Mega Man 5: Blood Among Brothers
by Magus523
Summary: Dr. Wily is still on the loose, and the Fifth Robot Rebellion is inevitable. But when it finally comes, its source is not Wily, but one whom Mega Man had thought he would never have to fight again... his own brother, Blues...
1. Prologue

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Prologue

Testing... testing _raz, dva, tri_... very well then, it seems it is working properly. _Zdravstvuite_, to all of you who see this. Some of you already have knowledge of the first four Robot Rebellions, of the first four times Robot Masters led by a madman threatened the world. If you would like, you may skip this opening without missing anything. Those of you who do not know, or simply wish for a refresher course, may listen to me for a short time while I explain the events that led up to the chronicle you will shortly witness.

In the Earth year 2040, the Third World War ended. This terrible struggle, involving widespread use of nuclear weapons by all parties, came ludicrously close to destroying the Earth. Sometimes I am ashamed to call myself a member of such a foolish species as _homo sapiens_. At the very end, when the planet stood on the brink of total collapse, the knowledge finally seemed to penetrate the two-foot-thick layer of _derr'mo_ which seemed to line the skulls of the world leaders. The result of that was a unanimous declaration of world peace and a pooling of resources brought on by a frenzied urge not for personal survival, but for the future existence of our entire species. The most valuable contribution made by all countries was not food, not drinkable water, not power, but knowledge. Scientests. The best and brightest thinkers on the Planet Earth joined forces and bent all their knowledge to one goal-pulling planet Earth back from the brink we had pushed it to. They named themselves the Second Rainbow, after the biblical story of the flood, and God's promise with the rainbow never to take such disastrous steps again... this was humanity's own rainbow, our own promise. My own father, Yuri, was a biologist in the Second Rainbow, working feverishly to develop cures for the diseases, both engineered and wild, that afflicted humanity after World War III.

However, arguably the greatest geniuses of that group were two young men who did not work in human flesh, but in robotic circuitry. To my father and the others, they were Tom and Al... but to the rest of the world, they were Dr. Light and Dr. Wily. As years went on, and the Second Rainbow gradually coaxed Earth back into life, Light and Wily's experiments reached a new, dangerous level. They announced that they could create humanoid robots with electronic minds far beyond any before them... minds that, while remaining in servitude to the Three Rules of Robotics, could understand complex tasks, direct and command lesser robots, and obey and give back verbal commands that were not preprogammed into them. Robots who were almost sentient... almost human. ROBOT MASTERS.

All in secret, Light and Wily created their first Robot Master. The prototype, who externally could not be told apart from a human boy of thirteen or fourteen. His name... was Blues, and he was activated in 2067. By the time the Second Rainbow had disbanded, their most pressing work accomplished for the time being and the group split into opposing factions over whether or not Robot Masters were safe, Blues had developed a strange personality all his own. In a way, he was almost like a son to Light, a nephew to Wily. Then in 2069, the three of them were testing a new device. A matter teleporter that went haywire, catching both Blues and Wily in an overload. Blues was whisked away, lost without a trace, potentially anywhere on the entire planet... and he didn't come back. As for Wily, he wasn't teleported; he was left behind, suffering no damage. Or so it seemed.

A year later, Light and Wily had moved on. Finally obtaining a government permit for the Robot Masters, they created eight designs. Two to be individual models, like Blues had been... a "boy" named Rock, and a "girl" named Roll. The other six were to be mass-produced, and sold for widespread use. These designs would be named Bomb Man, Guts Man, Cut Man, Elec Man, Ice Man and Fire Man. It soon became apparent that there was a difference between Rock and Roll, who developed personalities like Blues had, and the other six, who while nice enough fellows did not seem to have the spark of individuality. In later times, that latter type would become the norm for Robot Masters, and the more intelligent "Advanced" breed would be nearly never made again. Regardless, the Robot Masters sold well... until Wily changed their purpose forever, plunging the world into a new era of darkness.

Matter teleportation, by now, had been proven to have seriously damaging effects on the human brain. Humans could not use it, or they would go insane. As Wily did. Reprogramming the prototype six Robot Masters and gaining control of the mass-produced ones, in addition to armies of lesser robots, seized key positions the world over and demanded that Earth surrender entirely to him. The first Robot Rebellion. At this betrayal, the Light family decided they would have to deal with him... one of them in particular. Rock Light volunteered to be upgraded with armor, a plasma-shooting arm cannon and a variable weapons system that allowed him to copy and imitate the signature attacks of destroyed Robot Masters. He became a battle machine, who the planet dubbed Mega Man. Six Robot Masters were engaged, and six Robot Masters were destroyed. And then, deep inside Wily's Skull Fortress, the insane doctor was captured and arrested. The nightmare was over, Mega Man could be set aside, and Rock could return to his life.

Alas, life is never that simple. Wily was released from prison on parole, if you can believe that. I still can't, and I saw it happen with my own eyes. It wasn't long before the Second Robot Rebellion occured, as Wily created eight new Robot Masters of his own for the sole purpose of conquering the world for him. Metal Man, Bubble Man, Heat Man, Wood Man, Air Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Quick Man. Again, Mega Man went forth and again, Wily was defeated, sent to prison once more.

2072 saw the blight come again... but not in the same way, at all. Wily was released from prison again, true, on an insanity plea coupled by the treatment of Dr. Cedric Froid, a renowned psychologist who was, like me, the son of a Second Rainbow member. Froid and a politician named Donald Richolds successfully sprung Wily... and the doctor DIDN'T go off the deep end. Instead, he rejoined the Lights, and soon he and Thomas Light had plans for a new robot unlike any other. Using revolutionary new energy storage minerals discovered by a rival robotics company, the europe-based Sennet Robotics, the two doctors began creating what they called the ultimate peace-keeping machine, a gigantic humanoid right out of comic books and cartoons. A war machine named Gamma.

The minerals being used were Energen Crystals, and they could only be mined in eight specific locations known to mankind. Sennet's own Robot Master models were mining them... until they went berserk and seized the mines. This time, though, no mastermind came forth, no threats were made. Wily declared his innocence, and there was no proof; the only purpose seemed to be luring Mega Man out into battle again. And so he went to fight Magnet Man, Top Man, Shadow Man, Spark Man, Hard Man, Needle Man, Snake Man and Gemini Man. In addition to those eight, Mega Man began encountering a strange red-and-grey Robot Master named Break Man with no known origin and no seeming goal aside from to interfere with Mega Man over and over again. As time passed, they progressed from enemies to rivals, and then almost to friends, even teaming up to destroy the last of the Robot Masters, Gemini Man. At which point the mastermind behind the Third Robot Rebellion had to make his move. The mastermind... a twisted, tortured, thoroughly insane soul... an Advanced Robot Master known as Doc Man.

Doc Man had been created by Dr. Wily during the first Rebellion as a guardian in his Skull Fortress, defeated and crippled by Mega Man, and left to die by his father. Thought dead by all, he managed to repair himself, but the physical and mental strain had taken its effects. His programming was warped, his mind shattered, and he could think only of one goal. Revenge, on both Mega Man and Wily. His father had built him with a hologram generator that allowed him to disguise himself as anybody in the world, robot or human. He had been masquerading as Froid, whom he had killed, the entire time in order to get Wily out of jail so he could be killed once Mega Man had fallen in the Rebellion. Once that failed, he confronted Mega Man directly in an extended series of battles and chases that stretched across four of the Energen Crystal Mines and culminated in his headquarters underneath Froid's house. There, Mega Man finally killed him, ending his tortured life.

And then... Wily moved. Doc Man had gotten him out to have his revenge... in other words, the old man WASN'T cured. Once Gamma neared completion, he whisked it off to his third Skull Fortress. Consumed with fury, Mega Man accepted Break Man's aid in getting inside, and advanced on Wily so that Gamma could be destroyed before its completion. He failed in that regard, but somehow, impossibly, Mega Man fought Gamma anyways... and won. However, Skull Fortress III's collapse nearly killed Mega Man and apparently did kill Wily. Break Man brought Mega Man back to the Lights to be repaired. And once Rock was awake, he revealed who he was. Not a new Robot Master at all... but the first, the prototype. Blues Light, returned from the African Congo where the teleporter malfunction had dropped him all those years ago. He had been unaware of Wily's insanity, and been hoodwinked into helping the Doc sabotage the efforts of Mega, whom he hadn't known at first. Eventually, though, he figured it out and helped Mega win the day. Wily was dead, and there had been nothing any of them had been able to do to save him. At least the world was safe now, with both Wily and Doc Man dead.

Except that Wily wasn't dead. His death had been faked. With the world convinced he no longer existed, he was free to build a plan for the Fourth Rebellion, three years later. But not under his name... no, he needed a patsy, somebody to use their name and take the blame, so that Wily could remain "dead." And I was the perfect choice. Dr. Sergei Cossack, formerly a genius robotocist working for Sennet who had resigned in protest over their warbots. Living in a family castle, an ancient edifice far out in the Russian wilderness, with only my daughter, Kalinka. And... Robot Masters, eight of them, my own designs. Pharaoh Man, Ring Man, Bright Man, Toad Man, Drill Man, Dust Man, Skull Man, Dive Man. I never intended them to carry the Fourth Robot Rebellion on their backs... but I had no choice. Wily kidnapped my daughter and ordered me to start a Rebellion, using an excuse of hatred for Light for overshadowing me in the robotics field. I did so. I had to. And yet... Mega Man destroyed all of my robotic children before coming for me. We fought... and he defeated me. And then... Blues came crashing through the roof, riding on one of Wily's fortress guardians, with Kalinka in his arms.

When the Rebellion had begun, Blues had decided something was up, and had gone investigating. Somehow, he had discovered Wily's Skull Fortress IV, where Kalinka had been kept prisoner. He broke her out and carried her for two weeks across the brutal Siberian winter. And yet... she survived, because of him. Mega Man went after Wily, of course... but this time, after being defeated, Wily escaped. He got away free. I was let off the hook with only a token sentence of community service-working with Dr. Light, as his new lab assistant-and we all waited.

For we knew, that sooner or later... a Robot Rebellion would come again.


	2. Chapter 1: Bluesy Killer Horn

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Chapter 1: Bluesy Killer Horn

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"Even now, I'm not really sure of the entire story behind Double. We suspect that he was created by Sigma to be a plant from the very beginning, and never had a life as a non-Maverick, but even if so, I cannot completely hate him. Even the knowledge that it was all a lie cannot erase the fact that I once called him friend." -Mega Man X, on the Maverick mole Double planted in the Maverick Hunters during the Repliforce Incident, AKA The Fourth Maverick Uprising

It was the middle of the afternoon, about three or four PM, in the city of Sydney, Australia. Around the outskirts of the continent's capital, wild animals ran freely, most notably the kangaroos. Several passersby frowned curiously at one of them in particular who was hopping around quickly. The object of their attention being a pair of oversized sunglasses perched squarely on the animal's snout. It paused after a while and bent over to grab a bite of vegetation. At which point, an angry hand snatched the sunglasses off of its face.

"THERE you are." The owner of the sunglasses growled, placing them back over his own eyes. "About damn time I caught you. What was up with that idea, huh? You think you're funny?" Grumpily, the kangaroo kicked out at him with one leg, capable of disemboweling a normal human. The sunglasses-wearer, however, dodged left nimbly and then leaped behind the kangaroo, pulling the startled animal into a headlock. "What's wrong? Humans not supposed to be able to do that?" He smiled at the kangaroo's frenzied expression. "Well, I'll give you a hint. I'm not human. Wait, why am I talking to you? You don't speak english, and while I know a lot of other languages, marsupial isn't one of them." He released the kangaroo and made a shooing motion. "Go on, beat it." The confused animal was only too glad to obey, hopping away from the short human-looking... THING... as fast as it could go. Blues Light, the first Robot Master ever to be created, sighed and watched it bound off.

Outwardly, he was a human boy of thirteen, fourteen, with scruffy black hair, wearing blue jeans and a red blazer over a slate-grey shirt. A yellow scarf flew in the breeze, and the oversized shades he valued so much concealed his eyes. Over his shoulder, he carried a pack. And yet, where he traveled, at least one person a day recognized him for who and what he was. Brother of Mega Man, oldest robotic sibling of the Light family, the hero known as Proto Man.

"And yet, a freakin' kangaroo steals my shades." Sighing, Blues walked on forward into the city ahead of him. Most of the city hadn't gotten off work yet, so the streets were relatively uncrowded. After a bit of searching, he soon found a sidewalk cyber-cafe. Combining internet access on computers with snacks and drinks, they had gradually spread to replace ordinary sidewalk cafes until now, where every place that sold coffee for its business had at least twenty monitors. "Here we go... might as well surf the 'net for a bit." He walked inside and raised both eyebrows in surprise.

"Hello, sir! May I take your order and assign you a computer?" The Robot Master behind the counter smiled cheerfully. It was one of the old Lighttech "Cut Man" models, a cartoony-looking humanoid with a pink-and-white color scheme. Noticably, the pair of giant scissor-blades that had given them their names were missing from this one's oversized head.

"Well, I'll take a comp, but unless you serve up a mean 10-W-40, I'll have to pass on the drinks... not even I've got systems advanced enough to handle food." The Cut Man blinked, then looked at him again, its eyes widening as it remembered newspapers and television broadcasts. Blues smiled a bit inwardly; normally he tried to keep his actual species hidden, but it wasn't often he met a lost "brother."

"You're... are you... Proto Man?"

"Blues Light, yeah." The Advanced Robot Master nodded. "Proto Man's just a name for the newsies to work with... like my brother Rock and 'Mega Man.' Our sister hasn't acquired a second name yet, but it's probably only a matter of time." The Cut Man laughed and punched a few numbers.

"Right then... it'll be three bucks an hour. Seat number 20." He smiled. "Wish I could talk with you for a bit... bet you've got some interesting stories to tell."

"Can you take your break any time soon?" Blues shrugged. "Normally I'm not the most sociable guy, but for a fellow Lighttech..."

"Break...?" The Cut Man blinked. "You know, I've never really taken a break before. Never really had a need, really... I'll check. Hey, boss, mind if I take a break?"

"WHAT!" A bellow as deep as a foghorn came from the back room. Another human, behind the counter, shook his head.

"NEVER MIND, AL!" He yelled. "I'VE GOT THIS!" Sighing, he turned to Blues and the Cut Man. "Al's a good boss, but he's as deaf as a post. Go ahead, Chopper... you've never taken one before even though you're entitled to. Just don't stay off for five hours or something, okay?"

"No problem, Larry. Thanks." The Cut Man nodded, following Blues to his computer station and sitting down at #21 next to him.

"Chopper, huh?" Blues inquired. "That the name they gave you?"

"Yeah. I kinda like it." Chopper shrugged. "Even if they removed my weapons system after the first Rebellion. I was one of the only ones who weren't reprogrammed by Dr. Wily... and even then, they were seriously considering deactivating me for a while. Most of us Lighttech models were. I'm lucky these guys are more robot-friendly than a lot of humans."

"You've got a point there." Blues nodded. "I'm practically a celebrity, and even I find it easier to just pretend to be a human kid most of the time. It's been hardest on you Lighttech models... even the Sennet ones don't have it as bad. I'd be surprised if there were more than a couple hundred of you left on the planet... all six types." Chopper nodded gloomily.

"Yeah... I met a Bomb Man once, and once I saw an Ice Man passing by outside, but that's it. And you, of course... boy, was I surprised when you walked in here. You look... different when you're not wearing your armor."

"I think that was the point." Blues nodded. "Nothing personal, but you guys were designed for mass production. Me, Rock and Roll, though... we were made to be one-of-a-kind. Dr. Light's really more of a father than a creator to us. We enjoy being able to pass for human when we're not fighting."

"Yeah..." Chopper nodded, suddenly remembering something. "Dr. Wily isn't back, is he? You're not around here for..."

"No, no." Blues laughed. "The Fifth Rebellion hasn't started yet. We're all waiting for it... we know it'll be coming soon. It's been two years, and Wily's still on the loose... he'll start something again before long. It's been driving us crazy waiting for it, to be honest... but so far, nothing."

"That's a relief." Chopper smiled. "I like this place... the city as well as this cafe. I wouldn't want anything to happen to it. So, if you don't mind asking... if you're not working against Wily, why ARE you here? Don't you live with your family?" Blues' smile dropped.

"Well... that's kind of hard to explain." He looked out a window. "Between the first few months of my life, and finding my family again during the Third Robot Rebellion, I spent years in the African Congo, lost there thanks to a teleporter accident. Thanks to that, I've acquired something of a wandering spirit. After three years staying with my family between the Third and Fourth Rebellions, I decided it was time to start moving again. Ever since then, I've been roaming the world. America, Europe, Asia, and now here... every so often, I drop by home to visit, or to the Cossacks in Russia... but most of the time, I just keep walking to the next place I haven't been." He smiled. "It's not the easiest of lives... I wouldn't recommend it to most people. But it's fun... and it's the only way I can really live."

"Wow." Chopper shook his head. "You're... different. Your personality... it's your own, isn't it? Not preprogrammed into you?"

"My personality... no, it isn't." Blues shook his head. "Some knowledge... some guidelines... and, of course, the Three Laws. But everything else... I developed on my own. Me, Rock, Roll... and one other guy, but I don't like talking about him... we're different, yeah."

"Advanced Robot Masters..." Chopper whispered. "You're like a link... you're what comes between us and... and humans."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Blues laughed. "I think there's still a few steps to go. But who knows? We're still growing... evolving, almost. And other Robot Masters can, too. Look at you. You probably think your entire mind is preprogrammed... but you're more advanced than any Cut Man I've ever seen. Almost more than any normal Robot Master, only excepting a guy I know in Russia." Chopper had grown silent. "You're changing, Chopper. Robot Masters who live long enough do that. Give you some more years, and who knows? You may be approaching our level. Even normal robots can change... there's a guy I know named Eddie who's about three levels below even the most basic of Robot Masters, and by hanging out with my family enough, he's started to develop the inklings of thought. And you're way more advanced than he is. We're not THAT different, bud... so don't sell yourself short."

"Me..." Chopper whispered. "Becoming more...?"

"Count on it." Blues assured him. "And hey... next time I come back here, I'll stop by... or just whenever you feel you're ready, look me up. Call my family... I'll tell them about you, and they'll be able to forward you my location."

"I will." Chopper promised. "I should probably get back to work now... but you've given me something to think about. Thank you." Rising, he went around to the back. Blues watched him, smiling obscurely, before turning to his computer.

Later that evening, Blues was walking down the streets of Sydney again. He had spent two hours at the cafe and then left, walking through the city and taking in the streets. Now he was looking for a place to go into stasis and recharge... the robot equivalent of sleeping. Normally, he would crash in a tree or on a bench, but he was feeling unusually good today after meeting Chopper.

"Maybe I'll splurge and get a motel room..." He muttered to himself, walking past a display of televisions in a shop window.

_"...ly the latest case of human to robot violence, a crime which has plagued us even more since the invention of the Robot Masters ten years ago..."_

"Huh?" Blues turned. "Robot violence again? Damn, some humans are..." He froze in disbelief at the image onscreen. He recognized one of the humans standing near the scene of the crime. It was Larry, from the cafe. "No... not..."

_"The victim was a Lighttech Robot Master #DL003, more commonly known as a Cut Man."_ The reporter confirmed. _"Named 'Chopper' by its owner, Alfred Malkovich, it worked at a cyber-cafe owned by him. It was completely disarmed after the First Robot Rebellion, and was thus completely defenseless. The attack was believed to have taken place in an alley behind the Mick Burger on 4th Street at eight PM, one hour ago..."_ Without listening further, Blues took off towards 4th Street, which he had walked down earlier. Three police cars were parked around the entrance to the alley, and cops were everywhere. As Blues tried to gain entrance, one young cop blocked his way.

"Hold on, kid! You can't just-" He stopped as an older cop dropped a hand on his shoulder.

"Let him pass, Phil." The older cop looked at Blues with recognition. "You're Proto Man, aren't you? Blues Light?"

"Yes, sir." Blues nodded. "The Cut Man... Chopper... he's a friend of mine. How... is he?" The cop's face fell.

"...I'm sorry, son. We got here too late. He's... destroyed." Eyes widening, Blues looked past him and wished he hadn't. Chopper's sad, crumpled body was lying in a puddle of oil and other robotic fluids. His entire form was battered and smashed, as if it had been hit repeatedly by blunt instruments. His head was even worse... nothing was recognizable in the crumpled lump of pink metal. There was no hope that any of its delicate inner workings had survived. Behind it, Blues saw a heavyset man wearing the uniform of the cafe, head against the wall as he beat on it with his fist, without a sound.

"He..." Blues shook his head. "He had his scissors removed... and he still had the Three Laws... he never stood a chance..."

"We know, son." The cop behind him nodded sadly. "From what his owner told us, Chopper was heading home from work ahead of him... he stayed with the man's family, at their house. His wife and kids... aren't going to take this very well, I'll bet... we haven't yet found the culprits, unfortunately..." Blues' optics narrowed behind his shades, examining the ground with a level of scrutiny beyond human eyes.

"They tried to wipe their weapons off..." He growled. "But they couldn't... not entirely. There's a faint trail of oil and coolant..." Before the cops could stop him, he ran off, following the trail across streets and through alleys. Before long, he heard voices ahead of him as he passed behind a warehouse.

"Heh... no pigs around. They'll never catch us... they're too busy cryin' over that tin can."

"Still can't believe they're doing that... thought cops were supposed to be tough." Another voice chimed in. "And they're sobbin' over a piece of shit like that while we get away?" After a pause, a third voice agreed.

"Ha... some asses are just like that. My old man ain't... he's an ass too, but at least he knows what robots are for. You should see 'em when the news starts talkin' about the Rebellions."

"Did you hear the way the dumb bastard screamed?" The first voice laughed. "Man... 'please don't hurt me, I don't want to die...' yeah, right. Robots don't die... they just get destroyed. All of 'em should be." The other voices laughed in agreement. Teeth gritted, Blues stepped around a corner and found himself face to face with the three of them. Street punks, by the looks of things... stupid, cruel youths out to compensate for something. They had baseball bats, and Blues could detect Chopper's oil on them.

"Huh?" One of them, the second voice, frowned. "Who the hell are you, kid? Get outta here before we beat the crap outta you, too!" Blues didn't respond; he simply let his right hand transform, changing into the barrel of a weapon. Another of the punks hefted his bat threateningly.

"Didn't you hear Charlie, bitch? What is that, a popgun? Scram, or else... hey, what's wrong, Fred?" The third punk, who had been the first voice... was shaking.

"It's... it's..." He choked out. "Rocko, that's... he's PROTO MAN!"

"My reputation precedes me, I notice." Blues growled. The other two blinked, and the one named Charlie began shaking as well. Rocko, however, sneered dismissively.

"What, this little shit is Proto Man? No way."

"Way." Blues fired. On his arm was the Mark-1 Plasma Mega Buster, a weapon that fired bullets of deadly energy. It was also capable of charging and then firing a shot five times the size and power of an ordinary bullet. It was that charged shot that Blues used now. From his arm, a massive blast of blue energy larger than Blues' head screamed out over the three punks' heads, striking a wall behind them in a shower of scorched brick gravel that left a crater two feet wide. Rocko was no longer holding his bat; the three of them dropped to their knees.

"Sir... mister Proto Man, sir..." Fred whimpered. "Please... don't kill us! We didn't mean... we don't want to... it was an accident!"

"An accident." Blues growled, looming over them. "You beat him to death. You destroyed him beyond any hope of rebuilding him. You KILLED him, and you say it was an accident? How DARE you!" He began charging another shot, and the three punks moaned. "Let me tell you a little more about myself. Before I was Proto Man, my name was Break Man. And in the Third Robot Rebellion, I worked for WILY. That's right, I was a BAD GUY. Ah, I see by your increased shaking that you recognize the name. That's good. Back then, I fought Mega Man... my own brother. I tried to kill him, and several times I almost did. So..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "If I did that to him, my own brother... think to yourselves, what would I do... to guys like you?" At that point, he heard the screeching of tires behind him, and the slamming of doors... and then, the fierce pain of a lead slug hitting his Buster arm. The shot tore loose, barely missing the three punks and hitting a wall next to them. Two more bullets hit, striking his other arm and his back.

"That's ENOUGH, Phil!" A familiar voice roared. "Stand down!" Blues half turned to see the cops gathered behind him. The one with his gun raised was the young officer who had tried to keep him away from the murder scene.

"But, sarge!" Phil insisted. "You saw him! He was going to-"

"I KNOW what I SAW, Phil!" The older cop who had helped Blues yelled. "I won't ask again! STAND DOWN!" Reluctanly, Phil put his weapon away, and the older cop walked up to Blues. "Easy, son. You okay?" Blues winced.

"Yeah... hurts, but not nearly as much as a lot of the stuff I've seen in two Rebellions. I wasn't-"

"I know." The cop glared at the three punks. "They won't be harmed one bit, am I right? First Law and all that?" Blues relaxed.

"Yes, sir." The First Law was one of the three Laws of Robotics that were hardwired into nearly every robot, and the most severe, dictating that a robot may never harm a human being. Even in Blues and his siblings, breaking that Law would result in immediate mind freeze... death. The other two laws, which said that a robot was bound to preserve its own life and that a robot must obey a human's orders, were slightly less binding but still engraved into the brain. Rock was the only Robot Master yet to break the Second Law, and only the three Light children had broken the Third. Wily's robots, of course, had a perverted version of the three laws that changed their focus to Wily alone instead of all humans. And the murderous Advanced Robot Master known as Doc Man had shattered the Three Laws, but the rest of his mind had been broken along with them. Sighing, Blues turned his Buster back into a hand. "First Law, yeah... despite what some actions of mine in the Third might have people thinking, I have never harmed a human being, and I am still bound never to do so. All I did was scare the piss out of them." He sniffed the air. "Literally, it seems."

"That's good." The cop nodded. "Cuff 'em, boys, and get those bats. They're the evidence we need. Listen, son... even if you've seen worse, you should still get those wounds looked at."

"I know." Blues nodded back. "Don't worry, sir. I've know a guy who'll fix me up better than ever... if your boy Phil doesn't want to put me behind bars, I'll head on out there now."

"No problem." The cop frowned at Phil, who winced. "Going back home to your father?" Blues smiled and shook his head.

"Not quite, no... to another family. One I have very close ties with... and they live in Russia, not Japan."

"The Cossacks." The cop realized. "Good man, Sergei... shame about what they've been through. Well then, good luck... and I'm sorry about your friend. If it's any consolation, I'll do everything I can to make sure the judge throws the book at these scumbags." Blues didn't respond; he simply turned away, waved and then vanished in a stream of red light, teleporting away into the night sky.

"Wake up, Blues. The repairs are complete." The friendly voice of a young man spoke with a thick Russian accent. Blues slowly opened his eyes. Dr. Sergei Cossack, orange-haired, bearded, and wearing thin glasses, smiled at him. "Hello, my friend. How do you feel?"

"Like a new 'bot." Blues smiled, sitting up. He had teleported to Cossack's Castle, an ancient stone edifice in the Russian wilderness. Hereditary home of the Cossacks, it was now home to the doctor, his daughter and the eight Robot Masters he had created, rebuilt after their destruction in the Fourth Robot Rebellion and serving humanity once more. Blues ran a self-diagnostic and smiled. "All systems normal. You did a bang-up job, doc. Thanks. That's another one I owe you."

"I am eternally in your debt, my friend." Cossack demurred. "This is nothing compared to what you did for me... and for Kalinka. Speaking of which, she has been buzzing around like a honeybee, worrying about you. Ever since you appeared with three bullet wounds, she's been convinced you're on the verge of death. I had to send her to her room so I could operate freely on you."

"Well, tell her I'm up, then." Blues smiled. Cossack nodded, leaning over to a console in the wall.

"Skull Man, you may let Kalinka out now. Inform her that Blues is awake and wishes to see her."

"You made Skull Man guard her door?" Blues raised an eyebrow.

"It is the only way to make her stay there... she will refuse to stay put otherwise no matter what I do." Cossack sighed. "She is a marvel of disobedience... three times now, we have caught her trying to sneak out of the castle."

"Well, she can't stay cooped up here all her life." Blues told him. "Maybe you should take her out more."

"I know, I know." Cossack sighed. "I probably don't allow her nearly enough freedom... but I'm too worried, too concerned... too paranoid. After what Wily did for her, I can't help it... if anything ever harmed her again..." Blues nodded in sympathy as the doors opened and a four-foot-tall bundle of energy rushed through.

"Blues! Are you okay?" Kalinka Cossack demanded. Now ten years old, the same age as Blues, Sergei's daughter bore no physical traces of her ordeal in the Fourth Robot Rebellion. Then, she had been kidnapped by Wily and kept in atrocious, near-fatal conditions in the bottom of his fourth Skull Fortress. Blues had rescued her and carried her, clinging to life, across the harsh winter wilderness for two weeks to her home. For Blues, it had formed a bond of permanent friendship with the two Cossacks even closer than that between Sergei and the other Lights, but Kalinka seemed to feel even stronger than him, and was always delighted to see him and worried when he was gone.

"I'm fine, Kalinka." Blues hopped off of the robotocist's workbench and stood next to her, barely taller than she was now. "It takes a lot more than a trigger-happy copper with three bullets to stop me."

"I was worried..." She admitted. "I always worry when you're hurt... I'm just glad you're fine..." She embraced him, and he made a small grunt of surprise. "Blues... you're not going to leave now, are you?"

"No... I don't think so." Blues shook his head. "I was visiting Australia, but I've kind of lost my taste for there right now."

"We saw what happened on the news." Cossack shook his head sadly. "A dreadful thing. He was... a friend?" Blues nodded somberly.

"A new one... and a good one. If that hadn't happened... he might have become... more." He brightened up. "Speaking of which... how are Pharaoh Man and the others? No problems since their rebuilding?" Kalinka made a face; aside from Blues, she had never liked robots after being maltreated and abused by some of Wily's.

"Quite good, actually." Cossack nodded. "Their minds are running with no problems... they haven't even come close to breaking the Three Laws ever since I reinstalled them. All eight of them are doing fine."

"They stink." Kalinka stuck her tongue out. "Dad always sets them to watching me... they don't let me do anything."

"We were talking about that before you came in here, actually." Blues looked back at Dr. Cossack. "I was telling him he should let you out more, wasn't I, doctor?"

"Yes, yes." Cossack agreed. "Perhaps I should."

"Oh, oh!" Kalinka squealed. "How about tomorrow? Can we go down to Moscow tomorrow, the three of us, now that Blues is here?"

"Tomorrow?" Cossack frowned. "Kalinka, I don't think-"

"Please, dad?" Kalinka begged. "Come on, please? Blues doesn't come by often enough... only every couple months. Now's the perfect time, before he leaves again... please?"

"She's got a point, Doc." Blues chimed in. "And I would like to see Moscow again. Come on, let's make a trip of it."

"Well, maybe..." Cossack said thoughtfully. "Although I still worry... not that I doubt your abilities, Blues, but..."

"What if Pharaoh Man came with us?" Blues added in a burst of inspiration. "As added protection? I don't think there's anything in the world that we couldn't take down between us."

"Pharaoh Man? No way!" Kalinka argued. "We don't need him! You can protect us both by yourself, Blues!"

"No, Blues has a point, Kalinka." Cossack decided. "Very well. We will go to Moscow tomorrow, but only if you will agree to let Pharaoh Man stick by you for your safety, Kalinka."

"Oh, fine." The young girl grumbled. "He's such a stiff, but all right. It's better than staying cooped up here." She stalked off, waving her hands in the air and muttering to herself.

"Heh... she's never met Roll, has she?" Blues inquired. Cossack shook his head.

"No... Thomas once, and of course Rock when he fought me, but not Roll yet."

"Probably a good thing." The Robot Master smirked. "They'd probably start fighting within five minutes, and within ten the room would be nothing more than a crater. How is dad, anyways? And the other old farts, for that matter?"

"Thomas is doing fine." Cossack smiled. "We are almost done with a new project of my design... a secret we are keeping even from Rock, Roll and the others. All that remains is for him to finish working on the last circuit plates." Blues shook his head in admiration.

"Sounds great, Doc... nothing keeps you down, looks like. I'm guessing this project is designed to help Rock in the Rebellions?" Cossack nodded. "Good. We'll probably need it the next time Wily shows his ugly mug."

"Wily, yes..." Cossack muttered. "Indeed, it cannot be too much longer before he returns... when he does, we shall be ready for him. Anyways... the others are doing fine as well. Darwin Vinkus is as cranky as ever... I do not think he truly approves of me, but we're staying civil to each other. Olivier-sorry, I meant Mr. X-is doing fine as well, although I don't see him as much as Vinkus. Trent, though, is the one who we're all truly watching right now."

"Doc Corbun?" Blues remembered. "He's working for U.S. Robotics now, isn't he?"

"Yes, after he finished tidying up Sennet's paperwork." Cossack nodded. "And U.S. Robotics is, in only a week, going to launch their own eight Robot Master designs at last."

"Whoa, now." Blues growled. "That could be a problem." U.S. Robotics, the third major competitor in the field of robotics in the past two decades, was also the third to launch lines of mass-produced Robot Masters. The other two, Lighttech and Sennet, had done so before, and both times their Robot Masters had been hijacked and reprogrammed to serve in the Robot Rebellions, events that had resulted in a major drop for Lighttech and bankruptcy for Sennet. "That's a disaster waiting to happen... Wily's sure to go for them."

"The Lights are ahead of you." Cossack assured him. "All of them will be attending the ceremony, and Rock will be ready to go at the drop of a hat. Myself and Kalinka will be attending as well, of course, as will Darwin and X."

"Good." Blues grunted. "So, how do they look? Your professional opinion?"

"Professional opinion..." Dr. Cossack mused. "Well... they range. Some of them, like their Starshine and Railroader models, just look silly."

"This from the man who worked for the company that made the Spinstrike models." Blues chuckled.

"Ouch... point." Cossack winced. "All right, all right. However, others... like the Crystallus and Warmonger models... look very nasty. I think those two were designed by Trent directly, which likely means they're the most powerful."

"He was head of Sennet for a reason... even if you were the real genius there, he was no slouch." Blues agreed. "I'll have to remember to be there too. What's the exact date of the unveiling?"

"February twenty-seventh." Cossack told him after a moment in thought. "In New York city, in the U.S."

"Right, then." The Robot Master commited it to memory. "New York city on February twenty-seventh it is, then. And let's just hope that if Wily makes his move, we'll be able to take him down fast."

"Hello, Blues. It is good to see you again." Blues looked up and smiled at the Robot Master who was addressing him. He was built to resemble an Egyptian pharaoh, with a goldenrod-and-black color scheme.

"Pharaoh Man. How have you been doing? The last time I saw you was right after you and the others were reactivated, right?"

"Affirmative." Pharaoh Man confirmed. "We are all... happy, I suppose... to be returned to our normal selves once more. We did not like having to threaten humans for Albert Wily... insofar as we can emulate human emotion, that is."

"I didn't really either, back in the Third, come to think of it." Blues scratched the back of his head. :"Well, I'm glad that you're all doing fine now."

"As are we, my friend." Pharaoh Man gave one of his rare smiles. Of Cossack's eight Robot Masters, he was the most advanced, both physically and mentally, but yet he was still leaps and bounds behind the Advanced Robot Masters, and rarely showed any emotion at all. And yet... he had his moments. "Even the damage dealt to Ring Man's mind by the hard light testing at the laboratory he was forced to capture has been repaired flawlessly. As the humans or you might say... we are in flip-top shape."

"That's 'tip-top', Pharaoh Man." Blues chortled. "'Flip-top' is what my dad renamed Eddie as after Doc Corbun spiked the punch bowl at the party following the dropping of all charges against YOUR dad-well, no, I suppose you'd call him your creator."

"Creator... dad..." Pharaoh Man shrugged. "With Robot Masters... is there really that much of a difference?" Behind his shades, Blues' eyes narrowed.

"No... I suppose there isn't. Very good, Pharaoh Man." The gold-and-black Robot Master shrugged again.

"It was simply a logical analysis."

"I suppose." Blues shrugged. "Still. Not bad at all, even if it was just logic. Most Robot Masters wouldn't even be capable of that level of thinking."

"I believe all of my brothers would be able to make that connection." Pharaoh Man argued, then paused. "Well... maybe not Dive Man." Blues had to laugh at that.

"True... he never was the brightest bulb around... whoops, better not let Bright Man hear me making cracks like that. Anyways, how about your combat abilities? Have you tested those since you were rebuilt?"

"We have." Pharaoh Man confirmed. "A large number of warbots remained in the Citadel. Some are being used as guards around the outer perimeters, and some are used by us to maintain our abilities. We are all as capable as we were before the Rebellion; not quite a match for yourself and Mega Man, but enough to handle just about anything less than that."

"Good." Blues smiled. "Has Dr. Cossack told you about what we'll be doing tomorrow?" Pharaoh Man inclined his head.

"Yes. I will be ready to safeguard mistress Kalinka at all times." He turned his head around. "Speaking of which, I believe she is approaching at this moment."

"Here you are, Blues!" Kalinka greeted him as she ran in. As soon as she saw Pharaoh Man, however, her smile faded. "Oh... you're here too. Don't you have something better you should be doing?"

"I suppose so. By your leave." Bowing to both of them, Pharaoh Man turned and walked away. Kalinka watched him go silently, and Blues sighed.

"Do you really hate them that much, Kalinka?"

"What?" The human girl blinked, nonplussed.

"The Robot Masters here." Blues explained. "Pharaoh Man and the others... do you truly despise them?"

"Well... no, not really." Kalinka admitted. "I don't hate them, I just... don't like them. They never let me do anything... my dad always makes them keep me under lock and key. And they're just so... well... robotic. Not like you, Blues."

"They may surprise you in that regard one day..." The Robot Master chuckled, returning his attention to the computer screen he had been focusing on before Pharaoh Man had entered. Kalinka peered over his shoulder, curious.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Writing an e-mail home." Blues explained. "Normally I send postcards, but I don't think there's a gift shop in this place, so..."

"To your father and siblings?" Kalinka asked. He nodded. "I've never met them... well, there was that time with Mega Man at the end of the Fourth, but not aside from that." She frowned at a sudden thought. "Him and Roll... they're robots, aren't they? Are they like you?"

"Yeah." Blues continued typing as he spoke. "In some ways, Rock's probably even more advanced than I am. Roll, not so much, but she's got enough attitude to make up for it." Kalinka remained silent again, then spoke up suddenly.

"Could I... meet them some time? All of them?" Blues smiled at her.

"Of course. Tell you what. Next time I decide to go back home for a visit, I'll call here first, and your dad can bring you down to Tokyo. I'll introduce you to all of them... Dad and Rock and Roll... oh, and Rush and Eddie, of course."

"Those names do sounds vaguely familiar..." Kalinka thought, then shrugged. "Can't place them..."

"Rush is the dog." Blues explained. "He's a robot, but you can't tell it by the way he behaves. If he knocks you over, don't get excited; he'll just want to lick your face. A lot. Eddie, now... he's a suitcase, basically. A walking storage robot. Not much personality, but he's friendly enough, and handy a lot of the time. And then there's that secret project... has your dad told you anything about that, by any chance?"

"Not a thing." Kalinka shook her head. "Our dads are keeping it absolutely hush-hush between them... I don't think even Pharaoh Man and the others know anything about it."

"Figures." Blues sighed. "Oh well, we'll find out about it when they're done with it, I guess."

"Yeah..." Kalinka agreed, glancing at the e-mail he was typing up.

__

Hey, everybody.

You've probably seen the news by now, if it's reached as far as Tokyo, which I don't doubt. Just wanted to let you know I'm okay. After the incident, I shacked up at Cossack's; that's where I am right now. It was an ugly little incident, but there's nothing to be done about it now, so I'm cool. I'm hurt that you didn't tell me about this new secret project though, dad. Wounded, struck to the quick, absolutely petrified. Next time I come by, Kalinka'll probably come with her father so I can introduce you all, so try to refrain from causing any grossly visible structural damage until after then, Rock. Just thought I'd give you all a heads up. See yas around.

Blues

"Aaand, send." Blues fired off the e-mail. "Right then, was there anything else... oh, yeah..." He brought up a search engine.

"Human to robot violence?" Kalinka read. "Isn't that how you got those wounds?"

"Yeah..." Blues shook his head sadly. "And that's nothing compared to the other guy. He was a robot with no weapons systems at all... no way of protecting himself. He was killed."

"Oh, Blues..." Kalinka whispered in horror. "When I was saying those things about Pharaoh Man and the others..."

"No, it's okay." Blues assured her. "You're not a robot killer... you said you didn't hate them, and I know you'd never try to hurt even robots you didn't know. Some people, though... humanity has its dark side, even as robots do."

"Wily..." Kalinka remembered, shivering from a buried memory.

"Yeah... he's the one who's really to blame for everything that happened to you. And he's not the only one... I imagine there a lot of humans out there who would deny robots, any robots, even the right to exist." He frowned. "There's a guy who hangs out with our dad... name of Darwin Vinkus. He leans that way as well... doesn't like robots, doesn't trust them. He's on the United Nations, and he can be counted on to vote against robots in any issue that comes up involving them. But to my knowledge, he hasn't yet actually killed any himself... so maybe there's still hope for him." His eyes widened at the results of his search. "Holy..."

"What is it?" Kalinka read the screen quickly. "Hundreds... thousands of matches found?"

"Lighttech... and Sennet both..." Blues read down the list, shaking his head in disbelief. "And even some attacks on the U.S. Robotics factories by terrorist organizations... I thought those had all been stamped out by now."

"I recognize some of these." Kalinka told him. "They were my jailers... but I didn't know there were more of those kinds!"

"Those kinds were made by Sennet Robotics... they were mass-produced." Blues explained numbly, unable to wrench his eyes away from the terrible list. "These ones here, owned by civilians, had nothing to do with Wily or the Rebellions... they were never reprogrammed, never turned to evil. And they were killed because their brothers were used as pawns by Wily and Doc Man... and nothing more. Humans decided that that alone justified their deaths... too many humans, too many deaths. I thought there would be some, maybe a lot, but this... I never expected this many. And these are just the known cases, the ones that made the news... there's probably at least this many again that nobody ever found a trace of..." Kalinka wrenched her gaze away, unable to continue looking.

"I'm sorry, Blues."

"For what?" He turned and gave her a sad, forced smile. "It's not your fault... you didn't force humanity to create people like this. I don't blame myself for every human death ever caused by Robot Masters, so why should you do the opposite?" He closed the browser window. "That's enough of that. Come on... let's get to stasis for me and sleep for you. We've got a big day ahead tomorrow."

"Ah, Moscow." Dr. Cossack took a deep breath. He began coughing. "Ah, city air. I had almost forgotten how different it was... such a shame that I could not do so completely."

"There does indeed seem to be a much greater amount of smog and other pollutants in the air here than in the castle." Pharaoh Man noted. "And yet, there are more than a thousand times as many humans here than in the castle to breath the air. Homo sapiens confuses me sometimes."

"Kinda makes you glad we're not part of the species, eh, Pharaoh?" Blues joked.

"Speak for yourself. Whee!" Laughing, Kalinka led the way into the city, away from the hovertransport they had taken from the castle. Soon, they were just four more tourists in the crowds, Pharaoh Man the only one sticking out in any way. Enough time had passed since the last Rebellion that Cossack was no longer a household face. Blues was hard to recognize in his civilian garb, and Kalinka had never been featured in the spotlight much anyways. As for Pharaoh Man... by common agreement, he wore a suit and a hat that concealed most of him, and only those who got a close look at him could tell that he was a Robot Master, let alone identify him.

"Hey..." Blues paused at one point after several hours. "That place... I recognize it now. I had almost forgotten about it..."

"A tailor's?" Cossack raised a curious eyebrow. "What did you want from here, Blues?"

"The last time I was here in Moscow, I placed a special order at this place." Blues explained, walking in. "It should be ready by now." Curious, Cossack and Kalinka followed him. A fussy-looking clerk peered down at them through half-moon glasses an inch thick before speaking in Russian.

"Excuse me... may I help you with something?"

"Yeah, I placed an order here about three months ago." Blues responded flawlessly in the same language. The clerk glanced at Cossack.

"Sir, would you please inform your son that we tend not to hold on to orders that have been overdue for over a month?"

"He's not my father, and I'm the one who made that order." Blues growled. "It's under Blues Light." The clerk sceptically glanced at his computer. His eyes widened.

"Blues Light? Forgive me, sir! We have it here!" Walking around back, he quickly returned with a wrapped and ribboned box. Blues paid him, then smilingly handed the box to Kalinka.

"Here you go... I had this made for you. I think you'll like it." Unable to wait, Kalinka immediately tore into the wrapping. She stopped, frozen, as she saw what was inside. A banana-yellow scarf, exactly like the one Blues always wore. Before he could speak again, she launched into him with a bonecrushing hug.

"Oh, Blues, it's beautiful! Thank you!"

"Thanks... recieved." He gasped. "Just don't... crush my... microfusion... generator." Kalinka released him and picked up the scarf, wrapping it around her neck immediately.

"Very pretty, daughter mine." Cossack congratulated her. "What do you think, Pharaoh Man? Pharaoh Man?" They all looked around, but the egypt-themed Robot Master was nowhere to be seen. "Damn... I TOLD him to stick by Kalinka at all times! Where is he?"

"Probably in trouble." Blues guessed angrily. "Pharaoh wouldn't just shirk us for no reason. Come on!" He ran outside, with the two humans following him. Scanning the street, he quickly spotted the problem. Pharaoh Man was in an alley across the street, being menaced the same way Chopper had probably been. Again, it was three human males, these ones older than the punks in Sidney. Two of them carried bottles in brown paper bags, and the third was hefting a sawn-off billiard cue.

"You sure this is him?" One of the bottle-holders asked the cue wielder, who was apparently the leader. "Robots all look alike, ya know..."

"No, this is him." The leader insisted. "There was only one ever made of this guy... this is Pharaoh Man!"

"Why are you impeding my directives?" Pharaoh Man asked. "I bear you no malice."

"Ha! Don't make us laugh!" The other bottle carrier took a swig. "We know who you are! You were in the Rebellion! The fourth one!"

"I was under the control of Albert Wily at that time." Pharaoh Man pleaded. "I am now reprogrammed. I could not hurt a human even if I wanted to."

"Really? Well, it sucks to be you then, don't it?" The leader chuckled without a trace of humor. "My sister was one of the people you held hostage in Cairo. You nearly killed her, robot... and for that, you're dead!" He swung out and smashed Pharaoh Man into a wall with his cue. As he raised it to strike again, a whistled tune caught his attention.

"Leave him alone." Blues commanded. "Or I'll hurt you." The two bottle holders stared at the Mega Buster on his arm and took a step back, but the leader held his ground defiantly.

"You're Proto Man, aren't you, bub?" He realized. "Well, hate to break it to you, but that's not going to work. I know about the Three Laws. Like this trash, you can't hurt us."

"Want to bet?" Blues bluffed, charging a shot. The leader smirked and threw out his chest.

"Yeah, I do, matter of fact. Go on, shoot me! Hell, just skim me! Graze my arm with a tiny shot or something! I dare ya!" Blues gritted his teeth and fired... barely missing the man, who laughed. "Didn't feel a thing! You're nothin', loser!" He swung his cue again, sending Blues sprawling. Growling, the Robot Master tried to rise, only to be smashed back down. Regaining their confidence, the other two stepped up as well. "Come on, you tin can... can't you even get-huh?" He glanced up as a sixth figure entered the brawl.

"Get off of him!" Dr. Cossack yelled, barreling at the leader in a shoulder charge. However, one of the bottle holders intercepted him, and they rolled along the ground, grappling fiercely. The other bottle holder began kicking Pharaoh Man, preventing him from rising, while the leader continued to hammer on Blues.

"Cossack, too! This is our lucky day! Don't let him get away!" He yelled at his buddy. "We'll take care of all three for good here! OOF!" He stopped laying into Blues, stumbling as Kalinka struck the backs of his legs with an ancient, rusted tire iron she had grabbed out of a dumpster.

"Stop that! Leave Blues... leave my family alone! AAH!" She screamed as the man viciously backhanded her away. Blues' eyes lit up with fury, and he raised his Buster again... but the blaring red words appeared across his vision, locking his movements.

A ROBOT MUST NOT HARM A HUMAN BEING. Cursing inwardly, Blues struggled to move as he saw the enraged leader slap Kalinka again.

"Brat! Stay out of this or we'll kill you too-huh?" The cue-wielding man froze as he heard a bellow of pure animal rage. Upon seeing his daughter harmed, Sergei Cossack had risen to his feet and bodily lifted the astonished thug he had been fighting before hurling him into the one that had been harrassing Pharaoh Man. With another yell, he charged at the cue wielder, who raised his weapon in startled defense. It did him no good; Cossack ducked under the swing and delivered a blockbuster right hook into the man's gut. The cue slipped from his hand as he doubled over. Like the first, Cossack picked him up and threw him into his friends. Leaving all three in a groaning heap, the Russian doctor bent over his daughter.

"Kalinka! Kalinka!"

"Daddy..." She cried. "It hurts... Blues, where are you..."

"I'm... here." Blues got to his feet and walked over to her. "Kalinka... I'm sorry. We'll get you back to a hospital in no time."

"Not a hospital... back to the Castle." Cossack shook his head. "After the Fourth Rebellion, I stocked up... we have enough medical equipment to treat an army there." He picked Kalinka up, then glanced at Blues sympathetically. "First Law?"

"Yeah." The Robot Master nodded, walking over to Pharaoh Man and helping him to his feet. "When that guy hurt her, I pointed my Buster at him... and I froze up. Core module kicked in and locked my functions. I couldn't move. You okay, Pharaoh?"

"I'll be fine after a repair job... after mistress Kalinka is seen to." Pharaoh Man answered. "We are lucky that you were here, doctor... otherwise, we would have doubtless both been destroyed."

"I wouldn't go that far." Blues disagreed. "It's still daylight out... look at all those spectators." Indeed, there was a large cluster of pedestrians around the mouth of the alley. "The police would have gotten here before we were destroyed. Speaking of which, they'll be arriving at any moment now, so if we want to get Kalinka back to the castle as fast as possible, we should probably get moving."

"Yes, indeed. Let's go." Cossack, carrying Kalinka, led the two Robot Masters out, leaving the three thugs lying back in the alley. The crowds parted for them without a word, closing after them, as they made their way back to the waiting hovertransport that would return them to the safety of the castle.

"All right, Blues. You're good to go." Cossack stood up wearily. Blues stood as well, testing all his limbs.

"Everything's working. Bang-up job, Doc." He glanced over at Pharaoh Man, who was lying in a nearby stasis pod. "You going to fix him up next?"

"Yes... I cannot rest until I have done all I can for all three of you." Cossack nodded, moving over to begin work on his Robot Master. Blues nodded, working out a crick in his neck.

"Speaking of which, how's Kalinka doing? Please tell me there's nothing broken..."

"Fortunately, no." Cossack shook his head. "Just a lot of bruises. Toad Man aided me, and we bandaged her up. She'll be completely healed within a week."

"That's good. Is she asleep, then?" The Robot Master asked. Cossack started to reply, then stopped, remembering something.

"Ye... well, perhaps not. She told me that she would not go to sleep until you came to see her... and she knew you were all right as well."

"Sounds like her." Blues grunted. "She's stubborn as heck at times like these. I'll go check on her, then." Cossack waved a hand absently in agreement, already deep into his work on Pharaoh Man, as the Robot Master left.

"Blues..." Kalinka greeted him the moment the door to her room opened. She was buried under several layers of blankets, only her head peeking out... along with the scarf he had given her, still being worn. A television at the other end of the room was showing the news.

"Hey. Your dad told me you wouldn't go to sleep until I stopped by." Blues sat down on the edge of the huge feather bed. "And we couldn't have that, now could we? You need to rest and heal up." He frowned. "That was a silly thing you did, getting involved in the fight like that. You shouldn't have. Even if it was what made your dad go berserk and whup all three of those guys."

"I know..." The young girl agreed. "But I couldn't just stand there and watch you get beaten up, Blues."

"...Kalinka, let me explain." The Robot Master clenched his fist, looking away. "You know about the Three Laws of Robotics... and that I've already broken the Third, 'A robot must obey a human being unless doing so contradicts the first or second law.' I haven't yet broken the Second, 'A robot must act to preserve its own existence unless doing so contradicts the first law,' but my brother has, so I could probably pull it off in a neccessary situation. The First Law, though... 'A robot must not harm a human being...' that one's absolute." He looked back at Kalinka, face grave. "Back there, Kalinka... when those three thugs attacked you... there was no way I could do anything to stop you. If you get in fights with other humans, I will be completely unable to help. So will Pharaoh Man, and all the other Robot Masters here. Your dad was the only one who could fight back... we couldn't, and no matter what happens to, we'll never be able to against humans."

"But your brother..." Kalinka remembered. "He fought Wily... and my father, right?"

"Not directly, no." Blues shook his head. "They were using warmachines... every time. He destroyed those warmachines, but he never once injured their bodies... if he had, he wouldn't be here now. Even watching two humans fight each other can set off alarm bells... and if it gets to the level where one is in danger of permanent injury or death, we have to act to save their life, even if they're our enemy." Kalinka gasped, suddenly remembering.

"Like when my father and Wily fought."

"Like then, yes." The Robot Master confirmed. "When your father gained the upper hand, and started choking Wily to death, we had to intervene... even though the scum deserved it twenty times over, we had to save his life. A good thing, as it turns out... Wily pulled out a matter teleporter, and if we hadn't seperated them, your dad would have been caught in the backlash, and his brain would have been scrambled as bad as Wily's. Failing to prevent that would probably have killed me and Rock then and there."

"So..." Kalinka realized. "If I fight a human... I'm putting both of us at risk?"

"That's right. And any other robots around." Blues sighed heavily. "And it sucks, to be honest. Those scumbags were the worst humanity has to offer... the lowest dregs of society, barely above even Wily. And yet, even to save your life, I couldn't do anything to stop them. If it had been just us and Pharaoh Man, and your dad hadn't been there... then if you had kept fighting, they probably would have killed you... and me and Pharaoh Man would be locked down by our own minds, forced to watch helplessly as you died and then die ourselves for failing to prevent that, even though it was the First Law itself that blocked us from doing so. Just because those three thugs were technically of the species _homo sapiens_. It's stupid, it's contradictory, it's a crock... but it's burned permanently into my brain, and there's nothing I can do. One of the drawback of being made out of metal instead of flesh and bone." He smiled sadly.

"All right... Blues." The human girl smiled back. "I won't get in any more fights with humans anymore."

"That's my girl." Blues grinned. "Glad to see something's going right. The last few days have been pretty bad... first the incident in Sydney, then finding out just how many cases of these things there are, and then it happening again to us... yeesh. But now's not the time to dwell on such unpleasant things. As I believe I've said before, you need to rest and recover. Now, let's shut this television off so you can get some sleep, huh?" He glanced at the screen... and for the second time in only a few days, froze upon seeing what was displayed there.

_"The perpetrators were three natives of Sydney, all teenagers. Frederick Comma, 17, Rocko Tritus, 16, and Charlie Nibbs, 16, were all released today on bail. Their trial for the crime of human-to-robot violence is set for a week, and the defense is extremely confident. It appears as if the boys will be getting off with only a slap on the wrist, if anything at all..."_ On the television, the three punks who had killed Chopper were walking away from a courthouse accompanied by what appeared to be their parents. All three were smiling and waving cockily.

"..." Blues stood as if frozen. Kalinka stared at him, as the Robot Master's skin paled, becoming an ashen grey.

"Blues? Blues, please! Say something!"

"A... slap on the wrist..." Blues muttered to himself. "If... anything at... all. A slap on the wrist, if anything at all... released on bail... a slap on the wrist..." Kalinka's hand came out from beneath the blankets and reached for him. As it did, Blues' head snapped around so quickly that his prized sunglasses went flying over. Kalinka retracted her hand in fright. In his exposed eyes... was a complete and total lack of emotion. No sadness, no anger, no frustration... nothing. Absolutely nothing. Silently, he picked the sunglasses up and replaced them on his nose, then turned away, jaw clenching and unclenching. After a few moments, the human girl spoke again.

"Blues... I'm sorry..."

"I'm... sorry too, Kalinka." Blues stood up. "I'm afraid... I'm going to have to cut this visit short. Tell your dad and the others I apologize for not saying goodbye to them... I need to leave now, right away, before anything else happens."

"Where?" Kalinka asked. "Where are you going?"

"I'm... not sure." Blues still refused to look at her again. "Away. Just... away. I need some time alone... some time to think. I feel like my head's unraveling, like everything's coming loose and spilling out into the world... leaving nothing behind. I just need some time by myself to figure things out, where nobody else can find me and I can't find anybody." The human girl closed her eyes for a moment of willpower, then opened them again.

"Will you be okay?"

"I think so, yeah." He nodded. "This is just a rough patch... I've had them before. Don't worry about me... just concentrate on getting better. I'll see you again in a few months."

"All right. I'll tell my father and the others you left." She promised. Blues turned his head just enough so that she could see he was smiling.

"Excellent. I'll see you later, then. And hey... I'm glad you like the scarf." Whistling his trademark tune, he teleported away, vanishing through the roof in a streak of light.

Whether as Break Man, Proto Man or just as himself, Blues had never believed in showing strong emotions outwardly. Any distractions like that would have gotten him killed back in the jungles, and he had never broken the habit. There was no need to scream his feelings for the world to see; those who knew him well enough would see past the calm, confident smirk. Thus, even as he was cooly bidding Kalinka farewell... his robotic mind was a seething mass of confusion, disappointment and rage.

It had nothing to do with right or wrong... if such things could be said to exist beyond personal beliefs. It was all down to whether somebody was a human or a robot. Granted, the Robot Masters were still not on the same level of intelligence as humans... but even if they were, Blues reasoned bitterly, their treatment would probably not be much better. Second-class, tolerated but with no rights, nothing to protect them. Even he was helpless against the cold, hard fact. A robot could not harm a human being... but a human being could harm a robot. A human could harm as many robots as it wanted to... but a robot could not harm a single human being. Even Wily's Robot Masters had only been able to commit their atrocities because he, another human, had reprogrammed them. By themselves, robots had nothing. A robot could never fight back against a human... no robot had ever done so. No robot... but one...

_YEEAAA HAA HA HA HA..._

The laugh exploded into Blues' memory like a bomb, as he remembered the robot who HAD. He had only heard that laugh a few times himself, far less than his brother; as Break Man, he had only played a small part in the violent running battle near the end of the Third Robot Rebellion. But he remembered the laugh, and the horrific shell of a Robot Master it belonged to. Doc Man. He had gone insane, his mind of circuitry and transistors literally, physically twisted and broken, only functioning at all by a dark miracle. And yet... one of the things missing from the maniac's mind had been the Laws. His mind, shattered as it was, had been free until his death, the only Robot Master to be truly so. The only one.

A robot could not harm a human being...

...Could he?

And if he did... would his sanity be the price?


	3. Chapter 2: Lights Between Darkness

**__**

Chapter 2: Lights Between Darkness

"Two years now, and no sign... nothing." Rock Light growled. His sister, Roll Light, nodded somberly.

"Well, not unless you count the tabloids."

"Somehow, I doubt 'Alien Elvis Man' is going to be Wily's next secret weapon." Rock half-smiled for a moment. The two younger Light siblings were sitting on the couch in their living room, nominally watching a cartoon on the television, though neither was really paying much attention to it. "He's insane, but those things are on an entirely different level."

"At least they're not as bad as they were during the Third..." Roll tried to cheer him up, a sign that she was definitely concerned. A blonde-haired, red-wearing robot who physically resembled a girl of around eleven or twelve, Roll normally had a caustic tongue that belied her demure exterior. "Back when every one of them ran a daily feature on..." She stopped, cursing herself, but it was too late.

"On Wily." Rock continued, not looking at her. "On how he was faking it, how we were idiots for believing him, for thinking he could change, that he was going to just pull the same thing over again. Heh... guess even a tabloid can be right once in a while. Heh heh heh." His chuckling held no trace of humor.

"Stop that." Roll snapped, resorting to bluntness. "Don't sink into depression. You're bad enough as is. The longer between Rebellions means the longer before more people are hurt, are killed... I'd think you'd be happy about that."

"It will come." Her brother shook his head. "How long makes no difference. Wily's out there... he got away scot free last time. Vinkus and the others at the UN haven't found a fifth Skull Fortress yet, but there's almost certainly one somewhere. Sooner or later, he'll start the next Rebellion... and more people will die, before I can stop him."

Rock, on the other hand, was more prone to gloominess these days. When he wasn't thinking about the Rebellions, he was cheerful and friendly, a boy who looked the same age as Roll and acted almost like a human. The problem was, he almost always WAS thinking about the Rebellions... and the four times past the persona of the peace-loving 'Rock' had been supplanted by 'Mega Man', who had killed numerous Robot Masters and brought every storm of chaos created by Wily and those like him to a screeching halt.

"That's not a given." Roll argued. "Remember the Fourth? They call it the 'Bloodless Rebellion', if you'll remember, because not a single human died."

"That was when he was hiding behind Cossack... making him do the dirty work and take the blame." Rock reminded her angrily. "And nobody may have died, but Kalinka Cossack came too damn close for my tastes. I doubt he'll pull the same act again anyways... he's not stupid. If somebody else claims to be behind the next Rebellion, I'll be watching for Einstein hair the whole time, up until Blues finds where he's hiding."

"Speaking of Blues..." His sister steered the conversation away. "Did you read the latest e-mail from him?"

"Of course." Rock shook his head, then turned to face her. "You been watching the news?"

"Of course." Roll echoed. "Both the incident in Sydney and the one in Moscow. What do you think?"

"I think some humans aren't worth the effort of us saving their butts from Wily." Rock replied coolly. "You?"

"I'm thinking more about our older brother, myself..." Roll shook her head. "I'm worried, to be honest. That last e-mail... it didn't sound like him. At all. Oh, he was trying to act normal, but something was different. That incident in Sydney hit him harder than he thinks... and that one in Moscow, after he sent the e-mail..."

"He never did send any more word after that, did he?" Her brother realized. Roll shook her head.

"Nope... and dad called the Cossacks yesterday. Blues left there over a week ago... hasn't sent word to them since."

"He hasn't?" Rock raised an eyebrow. Most of the conversation on their brother had been recycled multiple times over the past week, but this was new. "That IS odd... did he say where he was going?"

"Nada." His sister denied. "You know what Blues is like... tell people where he's going AFTER he gets there, not before. Remember the time he decided it would be fun to hike up to that place with the Dahli Camels?"

"It's Dahli lama, sis." Rock winced. "Dahli camel... I'm pretty sure that's sacrilegious in some country. But yeah, I remember. And of course, being Blues, he somehow managed to find the one travel station that had internet access available through satellite, and sent us all a 'Guess where I am!' message."

"As I recall, that was what prompted the incident that ended up with dad's medical doc telling him to ease up on the coffee." Roll recalled, ignoring the gibes. "Not that he listens... I swear, one of these days I'm going to have Rush go bury that one-gallon stein of his."

"He'll just make you dig it up with your hands." Rock joked, then turned serious. "Blues'll turn up, sis... he always does. He's the most erratic member of our little family, but he's still Blues... if nothing else, he'll be on hand for the next Rebellion."

"He did promise he would, didn't he?" His sister reminisced. "In that stupid note he left before he took off..."

"Yes, he did... and even if he hadn't, I'd know he would anyways." Rock said firmly, gazing out a window. "One thing I've learned from the past few Rebellions... when Blues is on your side... he may not show himself all the time, he may not seem like much is happening with him, but when the chips are down for you, he's there to bail you out... a safety net for when your parachute fails."

"That sounds like our big brother, all right..." Roll agreed, then sighed. "I just hope he's held onto that part of him through what's happened recently." Rock couldn't think of a response to that. Fortunately, he was saved from having to as Dr. Thomas Light, their creator and father, came walking down the stairs, trailed by Rush and Eddie. The former immediately barked and ran over to have his ears scratched, prompting the latter to roll his eyes and emit a sarcastic-sounding beep.

"Be nice, Eddie." Dr. Light said absently. A portly man in the beginnings of old age, his hair and beard were both a snowy white, making him look more like santa claus in a labcoat than the world's leading genius in robotics... which brought him unending grief every December with three robotic children possessing decidedly unorthodox senses of humor. "Rock, Roll... do you, ah... have anything planned for next week?" The two Robot Masters glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Ah... not really, to my knowledge." Roll spoke first. "Why?"

"Well, I was going through my planner... and there appears to be something I had forgotten." Dr. Light explained. "You remember Trent, correct?"

"Doc Corbun? Of course we do." Rock answered. Both the siblings strongly liked the wisecracking, sardonic British robotocist who visited their father several times a year. "He's working for U.S. Robotics now, isn't he?"

"That's correct." The doctor confirmed. "After he finished his duties cleaning up Sennet Robotics as its head prior to its collapse, he was hired by U.S. Robotics, in the United States of America. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm here to tell you about. We're going to be flying over to the U.S. in order to attend the unveiling of that company's new lines of Robot Masters... they're finally ready to make them visible to the public. We leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Roll's voice rose several octaves. "We leave TOMORROW? And you tell us NOW? Argh! This is going to be a nightmare, getting ready in time! Could you have made this any worse, dad?"

"Ah..." Dr. Light smiled nervously. "Would this be a bad time to tell you we'll be sharing the jet with Vinkus?" At that point, Roll's language became unrepeatable. Rock, however, was not paying attention. His mind was on other matters... on the matter of new Robot Masters, and what the likely result of them would be...

"You see, Roll?" Dr. Light remarked cheerfully as the Light family approached the jet the next morning. "We had no problems making it here on time at all."

"If you call running around until two AM packing and yelling at each other no problem." Roll carried two suitcases that, combined, were larger than her without a sign of discomfort. Robotic strength did come in handy. "We had to go on half stasis time, and we needed a gallon of coffee for YOU."

"Ease up on him, sis." Rock told her. Dr. Light smiled at him.

"Thank you, Rock."

"Just being honest." Rock continued with a straight face. "You need a gallon of coffee EVERY morning, so that wasn't out of the ordinary." Roll snickered, and Dr. Light groaned.

"On second thought, don't take my side from now on, Rock. Please." A couple crewmen took their luggage and loaded it as the Lights climbed aboard the small, four-passenger private jet that would be taking them to New York City in the United States. Of course, Rock could have just teleported there, but he preferred not to use any of the systems more commonly associated with 'Mega Man' during times of peace. As they entered the jet, the Lights saw that the fourth passenger was there ahead of them.

"Tom... glad you could make it." Darwin Vinkus smiled as the two men shook hands. Japan's representative at the United Nations, Vinkus was a portly, balding man in his mid-fifties. Like Light and Wily, he had been a member of the Second Rainbow, one of the younger scientists there, but just as valued as the rest. However, he held a deep distrust for advanced robotics, Robot Masters in particular. Fortunately, he was civilized enough to keep it under wraps most of the time, and seemed to be developing appreciation for Rock's role in stopping the Rebellions, even if he didn't personally approve of the robot boy. "Rock... Roll." He inclined his head politely.

"Councilor Vinkus." Roll nodded in response, and Rock echoed her. Roll privately disliked the councilor, but at Dr. Light's wishes, she remained polite whenever he did the same. "Well, we're all here... when are we leaving?" As if in response, the door sealed behind them, and the jet began moving. Rock frowned and glanced at the front, where the pilot was seated, a move that made Vinkus' eyebrows raise.

"Something the matter?"

"I didn't bother to look... this would be a perfect way for Wily to trap us, if he knows what's going on... which he almost certainly does."

"Please." Roll scoffed. "Now you're just getting paranoid, bro."

"Perhaps... and then perhaps not." Vinkus admitted with grudging approval. "I had the same thoughts, actually, and I checked... the pilot is fine. Still, it will likely be only a matter of time before that madman shows his face..."

"You think Albert will attempt something at the showing of the new Robot Masters, then." Dr. Light sighed as they took seats. The UN counciller nodded darkly.

"It is a certainty. Mega Man... sorry, Rock... was unable to prevent his escape at the end of the Fourth Robot Rebellion... which it has been two years since, with no sign of him. Now, here we have Robot Masters being debuted... and to make matters worse, there are eight of them... the same number as there were in the Second, Third, and Fourth. The First Rebellion aside, eight seems to be Albert's magic number."

"I trust that U.S. Robotics... and the local government... will make extensive preparations for such an occurrence." Dr. Light said cheerfully. "They are not so foolish as to not expect something of the sort, after all."

"I suppose..." Vinkus glanced out the window, watching Tokyo fall away below them. "But still... I cannot help but think something will happen there, no matter what precautions are taken... none of them have been able to stop Rebellions from happening in the first place... only Rock here has been able to halt them."

"Indeed... and this may surprise you, councilor, but I actually agree with you completely." Rock predicted. Dr. Light and Roll blinked in surprise, and Vinkus turned from the window to look at him, face blank.

"Oh?"

"Wily will try something." Rock continued bleakly. "He's insane... Rebellions are his obsession, they're all he lives for. Waiting two years has to have built his madness up... and there's no way he can't have heard of this event. It'll be irresistible to him... like a flame to a moth. A moth with a can of gasoline. No matter how heavy the security is, he'll be unable to stop himself from making an attempt... and considering his track record so far, I wouldn't bet the farm that he won't be able to find some way to succeed."

"So what will you do if he does?" Dr. Light asked softly.

"That's why I brought my armor." Rock shrugged. Vinkus jumped for a moment, causing the spectacles he wore to tumble off, but then his face changed to a small smile, unusual for the normally frowning councilor.

"I see... that was well thought-out. We may need you, if Albert does indeed invite himself to the proceedings..."

"And you'll take on all eight of those Robot Masters by yourself, since if Wily pops up he'll likely already have reprogrammed the prototypes that are there?" Roll told her brother scathingly. "Why don't you just open the door of our jet and step out now? It'll save time, and the end result will be the same."

"I'll be taking them on WITH the security they've got backing me." Rock corrected her. "If I'm in the fray myself, Wily may choose to fight it out there instead of running away. Robot Masters are tougher than humans, but even they can't win when they're grossly outnumbered... not when they're out in the open instead of barricaded in fortresslike stolen territories surrounded by robot armies. And if we can hold them down long enough for somebody to set up a EM shield around, none of them-Wily included-will be able to teleport out."

"It seems you have this well planned, but I still hope nothing of the sort happens." Dr. Light sighed. "And even if it does, we still have some time before the presentation... before we even arrive in the United States, for that matter. At least a day."

"Two." Roll corrected. "We stop in Hawaii tonight to rest and refuel, then continue to New York tomorrow. Well, technically Hawaii is the U.S., but you know what I mean. So we've got some time on our hands. What's the first in-flight movie they're showing us?" Vinkus made a face.

"Something from the U.S... _Bambi III._" Roll made a rude noise, and the councilor rolled his eyes. "My thoughts exactly." Rock sighed.

"Guess I'll catch up on my stasis, then..." Leaning back, he closed his eyes and shut down most of his systems, going into a state much like biological sleep to recharge his energy.

Unlike most robots, even Robot Masters, Rock had dreams while he was in stasis... nightmares, more often than not. To be expected, perhaps, after everything he had gone through, far too much of it experience that should have been the stuff of bad dreams, not reality. He had nightmares about the first, hellish Skull Fortress... he had nightmares about the twisted distortion of Dr. Wily that had been the Alien hologram-cloaked weapons pod... he had nightmares about the seemingly endless chase hunting the murderous Doc Man... he had nightmares about his impossible fight against Gamma, the Ultimate War Machine capable of destroying entire cities... he had nightmares about each and every one of the Robot Masters he had fought, the Robot Masters he had killed. But mostly now, he had nightmares about the moment in the Fourth Robot Rebellion, the terrible moment when he had realized that Wily's death at the end of the Third had just been another trick, that the mad doctor was still alive and had been pulling strings the entire time.

_"If you will not die, then I will never STOP! Until you are dead, until your name has been wiped clean from this miserable woebegotten planet and the feeble minds of its fleshy hordes, I will NEVER STOP!" Wily leaned forward, behind the controls of his teleporting, impossible to peg Wilyporter capsule. The ancient scientist's teeth were bared in a manic grin as he loomed over his nearly fallen adversary. "Rebellion after Rebellion will be instilled, Rock. Innocents will suffer... like the Cossacks! Until I finally triumph! Cossack was a puppet, Kalinka was his strings! There will be OTHERS, Rock!_ **_I WILL NEVER STOP!_**" Screaming, Rock jerked upright.

"Rock, what is it?" Dr. Light demanded. Vinkus glared at him in mistrust, as Roll frowned.

"Another bad dream?"

"Yeah..." Rock nodded, remembering where he was. They were on the second day of their trip, heading towards their destination in New York. After a stasisless night spent guarding the humans' rooms at the hotel they had stayed in overnight, he had chosen again to conk out on the jet. Now he was regretting it... no. The nightmares would have come wherever he had tuned out. "How long before we arrive?"

"Not long, actually." Vinkus looked away. "We were just about to wake you anyways. I wasn't aware that robots dreamed."

"Most of us don't." Roll shook her head. "I don't... can't speak for Blues, though. Rock, though..."

"I'm different." Rock finished shortly. "There's New York down below... will Dr. Corbun be waiting for us?" Dr. Light nodded.

"Most likely. We are his personal guests, after all. Wonder if Mr. X has arrived yet..." They all fell silent as the jet made its landing. As Dr. Light predicted, upon exiting the plane, they found a familiar face beaming up at them.

"Tom! Rock! Roll! Vinky! Glad you could make it!" Vinkus scowled, but did not return the greeting. Dr. Trenton Corbun was a tall, slim man in his forties with jet black hair and a trim mustache over an almost perpetual grin. A native of Great Britain, he had moved to the United States two years back. While not a robotocist on the same world-class level of Light, Cossack and Wily, his skills were still nothing to sneeze at. With him were two other people; a brown-haired woman who looked to be the same age as him, and a much older gentleman with a shock of white hair and a beard to match. He wore a slightly sinister trenchcoat and sunglasses, and carried a walking stick. "You're the last ones here... Mr. X beat you to it!"

"Please, Trent... this is not a race." Mr. X smiled gently. The old man was one of the world's most wealthy billionaires, a fortune gained in the Third World War as an arms dealer. In his old age he bitterly repented the means he had used to gain his riches, and spent it freely in funding worthy causes... such as those of his close friends.

"No, but it's fun to talk about it like it is." Corbun shrugged. "Come on down, guys. This is my wife, Sandra... Sandy, you've met Darwin and Thomas before... these are his children, Rock and Roll."

"It's nice to meet you both at last." Dr. Corbun's wife greeted them. "I've seen the news reports, but those don't really say much."

"We're happy to meet you too, Mrs. Corbun." Roll smiled back. "Are your children here? The Doctor's mentioned them before..."

"Oh, not yet." Mrs. Corbun laughed. "They were both grown before we moved to the U.S., and they stayed in England. They'll be arriving here tomorrow." She glanced at the four human men. "Why don't we go ahead to the car and let the guys talk for a moment?" Rock nodded.

"That sounds fine." The three of them departed, and the human males shook hands.

"So... the Gamma Team convenes for another big presentation in robotics." Dr. Light sighed.

"Let's hope this one goes better than the one before..." Mr. X added, all four of them remembering the past, and those who were no longer there.

The Gamma Team had been created during the Third Robot Rebellion, when Dr. Wily had feigned regaining his sanity, and together with Dr. Light, had created an "Ultimate Peacekeeper" to keep the world from harm. Hundreds of people had worked on Gamma, but at the top were seven adult human males, who all had vital roles in Gamma's completion. Light and Wily, of course, were the brains and lead designers... Vinkus was there to make sure it fit the UN's directives... Dr. Corbun arranged for labor from surviving Sennet employees... Mr. X had paid for the damn thing... and a politician named Donald Richolds and a psychologist named Cedric Froid handled the publicity and kept lynch mobs off Wily's back. Light alone knew that Froid had really been the psychotic Doc Man the whole time, the original Froid having been killed by him a good time earlier. As far as the other three-and the world-knew, Froid had been killed in the chaos involving Doc Man near the end of the Rebellion before the mad robot's own death, along with Richolds, a later victim of Doc Man's. Which left five surviving members of the Gamma Team, and only four of them on good terms, to say the least... Wily hadn't attempted to attend any of their get-togethers since their discovery of his survival, for obvious reasons. Now, though, he was on all of their minds... would this be the time he would, after two years of silence, violently renew his acquaintance with his former teammates as well as his now-hated 'family'?

"I want you all to know, we're taking the utmost precautions in security for this event." The normally jovial Dr. Corbun soberly assured them. "If Albert attempts to crash our little party, he may be in for a bit of a surprise."

"Not nearly as big of a surprise as we were in for when we all found out he had survived Gamma's destruction." Vinkus countered sourly. "Believe it or not, I'm glad Tom brought his... brought Mega Man along. If Albert does make a showing, he'll likely be the only thing that may work."

"Normally, I would urge us to turn to more pleasant manners, but in this case..." Mr. X sighed. The calm, courteous billionaire was often the peacekeeper between the sardonic British Doctor and the volatile Councilor. "Well, even I must admit that action from Albert is more than likely."

"Albert does seem to know an opportunity when he sees it, unfortunately... that business with Sergei and Kalinka, and of course... Gamma..." Dr. Light's eyes grew distant. "It's been five years since the Gamma Project... and we've all grown a little older, a little wider, and a little more cynical about the world around us. Five years... time passes so fast, without us really knowing it..."

"Have to wonder if Don and Ced are still watching us... seeing what we do..." Dr. Corbun continued gloomily, then shook himself. "Ahh... sorry, guys... I know we don't normally get into anything even approaching religion. Guess it was just the mood... come on, let's cheer up. This isn't anywhere near how we should be acting for an occasion like this."

"I suppose you think we should be dancing around, wearing brightly colored cone hats and setting off fireworks that are likely illegal in this country." Vinkus responded acerbically. Dr. Corbun just smiled.

"I see you're keeping your rapier wit sharp as ever, Vinky. You know, there was this guy once who impaled himself on his. Lurched around bleeding his guts out-metaphorically speaking, of course-for a day before expiring. And the thing was, nobody noticed the difference from when he was waving the thing around like a fool. Come on, let's catch up with the others... there's this great bar and grill nearby we can go to for dinner..."

The room was almost pitch black... a lack of light that was echoed throughout the rest of the complex it lay at the bottom of. Nothing moved in that building, nothing stirred... nothing lived. Nothing outside of the one room at the very bottom of the fortress, where in one corner, a single, solitary light shone down on the operating table. It was fairly standard... ones similar to it existed in both Dr. Light's and Dr. Cossack's homes, and had in all four Skull Fortresses before their destruction, along with many other places around the world. Around the room in the dark were robotic parts, and machines associated with them... boxes of tools, file cabinets crammed with diagrams, a stasis capsule in one corner for robots to "sleep" in rather than just lying on the floor. It was messy, disorganized... both the room and the entire building it was built under were brand new, having only existed for a matter of days... obviously, most of the building was barely there, under heavy construction. But this room was complete, having been first priority for the robots that were building it.

On the bleak, standard operating table now... was a Robot Master. A Robot Master with the top half of his head removed. Circuits and component parts were hanging out, spread on the table to be worked on. The Robot Master, of course, was inactive... it would have been impossible to work had it been awake, akin to performing brain surgeon on a fully conscious human. This Robot Master, had been inactive for quite some time anyways, and only now was the other being in the room working on him. The hands that operated the tools moved somewhat sluggishly; they were tired, along with the rest of him. Dirty, broken-nailed, bleeding hands operated on the Robot Master's mechanical mind as he lay, silent and dead, on the table far below the earth.

"Well, that about does it." The worker grunted, carefully placing the circuitry back inside the skull. "All that messy damage has been fully fixed... your brain's in perfect physical shape again." Picking up an acetylene torch, he began welding the top of the Robot Master's skull back on. "You'll be a perfect servant for me now... obedient, unyielding, powerful and... of course... vicious." He chuckled darkly. "There's no way to tell until I see the finished result, of course... but based on what I know of you, you just may be the most vicious of all my servants. That, of course, is a very useful trait for me... that's why I selected you for this." The Robot Master remained silent. "What can I say? I've never been one to miss an opportunity when I see it." Pausing on a sudden thought, he stopped working and walked over to one file cabinet, which he dug through until he found the object of his search. A relatively recent newspaper clipping, ink still unfaded, from the front page.

"Opportunity... that's what I thought when I saw this. Of course, it wasn't a totally new concept to me... a little bit of the idea had always been sort of lurking around in the back of my head for a while now. But when I saw THIS on the television first, then the paper... everything sort of clicked in my head. I started making plans, steps in a chain, and that led me to... here. And you." Again, the Robot Master was silent as its master returned to the table to begin welding again. For a few moments, there was no more speech, the only sound in the darkness the hiss of the welding torch... and then, the one operating it spoke again.

"I have, of course, modified you... improved you... altered you extensively. Your weapons and armor systems, for one... before, your weapons were adequate, I suppose... but compared to you now, they were just a baseline for your current destructive powers, more varied and more powerful than what you had before. As for your armor, well... one of the others could hit you with a tank and you'd just get back up again. I daresay even HE will have trouble punching through that. Yes, you are now quite the splendid battle machine... like with your wonderfully brutal mind, possibly better than any of the others by leaps and bounds. It is fitting... after all, only the best have the right to serve me. I have no need for useless slag."

"The most extensive modifications, however, have not been applied to your body, but to your BRAIN. As I said before, I've completely repaired all that nasty damage to it from earlier that made you such a bother... but of course, that's not all. I've also got a wondrous little invention here... a memory inhibitor. It will block out parts of your brain, but only certain parts... you see, if I tried rewriting the data itself like is the norm in these situations, I might accidentally get rid of whatever it is that makes you so bloodthirsty, so driven, so blasted EFFECTIVE... the same if I just dumped your mind contents and reprogrammed from scratch, except no 'might.' So, I use this instead. My memory inhibitor, attached to your brain, will stop you from accessing any knowledge, recollection or stored data from your... let's call it a past life. Before I brought you here. BUT! It will ALLOW your mechanical mind to continue to draw upon the rest of you... upon that core of nastiness and love for killing that makes you... you. You won't remember WHY you're like that, but you'll know you are, and that's what I really need. Oh, and of course, there's the Three Laws... mustn't forget those... as a matter of fact, it would probably not be a bad idea to test that out once I reactivate you. Which I'll be doing momentarily... there, your head's back together. Just as soon as I make a few more last-minute additions..."

A few minutes later, the last-minute additions were complete. Cackling, the repairer fed power to his new servant. One second passed with no result... two... three... and then, with a hum, the Robot Master's eyes lit, glowing blood-red for a moment before fading to their normal hue. They glanced around the room with no shock or surprise, just taking it all in... and then they stopped on the one who had repaired him. As he saw the eyes fix on him, the worker took an involuntary step back. He knew his design was perfect, and yet... if he had made a mistake... no. He couldn't have. Slowly, the Robot Master rose to his feet, on wheels that would allow him fast movement... then bowed deeply.

"I am yours to command, master. Merely give me an order, and it shall be granted."

"We shall see about that..." The master muttered cynically, hiding his relief. "At any rate. State the First Law."

"I may not harm you or cause harm to come to you by my own inaction." The Robot Master intoned somberly. His master nodded in slight approval.

"Good, good... looks like that one's in there perfectly. State the Second Law, now."

"I must not disobey your orders unless doing so comes into conflict with the First Law."

"Again, good. And hopefully you won't bend your way around that one like HE does so often. And the Third Law?"

"I must act to preserve my own existence unless doing so comes into conflict with the First or Second Laws."

"That's all three. Excellent job. I did well with you." The robot's master congratulated himself. "Can't even tell what you were like before... anyways. Run a diagnostic on yourself... see if there are any errors." The Robot Master paused, then did so.

"No errors found. All systems functional."

"As they should be." The master nodded absently. "Very good. Wait for further orders, then." He paused at a sudden thought, then started giggling manically. "Hee hee hee... I wonder what my dear, dear family will think... of this?" Grinning wildly, he walked away, into the darkness of the building. The Robot Master, though, remained there... watching him, silent, unmoving... waiting for instructions.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the U.S. Robotics Robot Master Show!" A smarmy announcer in a neon green bowtie screamed. Roll winced, both at the tie and at the name.

"Couldn't Doctor Corbun have talked them into naming it better than that?"

"Shush." Rock hushed her. Around them, hordes of the paparazzi swarmed eagerly, bellowing questions. Rock had to grudgingly admire the grinning announcer for both being able to ignore every question perfectly and for being able to talk loud enough to be heard clearly over the noise. Here and there through the crowd were curious civilians, and in their reserved seats near the front along with the Lights were Vinkus, Mr. X, and the Corbuns, as well as Sergei and Kalinka Cossack, who had arrived that morning. Sergei had reported glumly that they had not heard from Blues since he had left following the Moscow incident either. Rock shook his head, jerking himself out of his gloom and resuming scanning every inch of the area. Hundreds of burly security guards were patrolling, but Rock didn't have too much faith in them. On center stage, the announcer seemed to be boring everybody but himself with U.S. Robotics' history.

"Despite the drop in robot popularity following the Robot Rebellions, U.S. Robotics remained alive, and still growing in the recent years. In particular, aiming to catch up with both their current competitor Lighttech and their past one of Sennet Robotics, U.S. Robotics had focused their efforts on constructing better, stronger, smarter Robot Master designs of their own!"

"This is beginning to sound disturbingly like a story my grandfather told me of something that happened a century ago." Dr. Light muttered. "What's next, Microsoft entering the field?" This garnered a snort of laughter from Mr. X and Vinkus, and puzzled shrugs from everybody else.

"It is these Robot Master designs that we are here to show you all today, finally complete and ready to begin mass production!" The announcer continued on. "First off, let me introduce a big friend of mine, who's going to use his strength to help our boys in mining jobs all over the world! He may look like he's made of rock, but this robot's heart is pure gold! World, meet the Rockyfella Model!" From behind a curtain walked a tall, brown robot who seemed to have been at least partially inspired by Lighttech's "Guts Man" model, with his muscular build and lantern jaw. There the similarities ended, however; this robot's outer shell was made of dirt-brown bricks.

"Hello, New York!" The Rockyfella raised his arms in response to the sudden cheers from the newsies. "Yeah... thank you!"

"See, rocky? Told you you'd be a big hit!" The announcer grinned and thumped the big robot on the back familiarly. "Why don't you show these folks your special ability?" The Rockyfella nodded, striking a pose like he was flexing his arms. The crowd gasped as three brown, spherical stones suddenly flew in and began rotating in the air around him. "As you can see, Rockyfellas can turn on a personal magnetic field that can literally pull lumps of metal ore right out of the ground! Of course, this is just a simulation of the ability; had he actually used it here, all your equipment would have smothered him." The crowds cheered again, and the Rockyfella held his arms up a second time, grinning, before standing back behind the announcer. "Next up, we've got an experiment in progress; a Robot Master using technology never dreamed of by anyone else! Come on out and say hello, Turntable Model!" The second Robot Master to emerge was a stranger-looking; top-heavy, his body was triangular, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. A needle gauge covered most of his chest, and to complete the effect, his paint job was a ridiculous pink.

"Hello, everybody!" He smiled. "Pleased to meet you all. May I demonstrate the ability for which I was built?"

"Go ahead, Turntable, but just use it on me." The announcer grinned. "Don't think these folk are ready for it." The Turntable Model nodded, and as the needle on his gauge went active, the announcer suddenly flew into the air! The audience watched, struck dumb by shock, as he flipped himself around and stood on the ceiling, upside down, in absolute, blatant defiance of one of the law of gravity.

"...You can't be real." Rock had intended it to be a mutter, but he accidentally said it louder than he had meant to, and in the silence of the hall, it carried to every ear. The Turntable Model looked at him, smiling.

"You are... DLN001, Rock Light, correct? I assure you, on my word as one Robot Master to another, that my abilities are very real. I can indeed alter the effects of gravity on individual lifeforms and temporarily reverse them. I would explain further, but I am afraid I have been instructed not to do so, nor to extemporize on the purposes for which I was made. Instead, let us proceed." The needle gauge went active again, and the announcer flipped once more, landing firmly on his feet.

"Thank you, Turntable. Now then, our third model has been inspired by another existing Robot Master. Dr. Sergei Cossack's Skull Man, who was unfortunately forced to take part in the Fourth Robot Rebellion, utilized a powerful personal force field. Dr. Wily's Wood Man in the Second used a similar concept with heavy metal leaves. However, this concept is not only useful in war. Ladies and gentlemen, producing... the Starshine Model!" The third Robot Master was hilariously designed; his torso was covered in front by a huge, five-pointed iron star, and his forehead by a smaller second one, both a shining, almost golden orange like the rest of him.

"I must admit, I am a bit nervous." The Starshine smiled. A few of the reporters chuckled, relaxing from the surprise of the Turntable Model. "Anyways, I can produce a force field over myself and anybody close to me... like so." Around him, a shimmering globe of light appeared, one that looked all too familiar to Rock and the Cossacks. There were some differences; where Skull Man's force field had been white with skull-shapes vaguely visible in there, the Starshine's was as orange as his paint job with, of course, star-shapes swirling around. But the similarities were obvious.

"So is this guy just a knock-off of Skull Man?" Rock muttered, taking care to keep his voice low this time. Dr. Cossack slowly shook his head.

"It would look that way, perhaps... but Trent is more capable than that. Doubtless this Starshine Model has some advancements that are not being shown here." Onstage, the Starshine had stepped down, and the announcer was speaking again.

"The fourth Robot Master we've got for you today is a real treat, folks. Now, most of our planet is at peace now, thankfully... but from time to time, larger disturbances do still crop up. It's for that purpose that we at U.S. were regretfully commissioned to construct an airborne Robot Master designed for combat situations. I hope you won't hold any grudges against... the Greenhawk Model!" There was a buzzing from above, and through an open skylight, what sounded like a helicopter descended. In reality, it was a forest-green Robot Master whose entire body was held aloft by a whirling propeller blade. Making a perfect landing on the stage, he bowed deeply.

"Hello, everybody. I'm glad to meet you all." His voice was calm, friendly, a little joking; he didn't sound like a robot designed to kill. Rock's eyes narrowed slightly.

"That one's going to be trouble." He growled to Roll, who nodded in agreement. The Greenhawk, unnoticing, stood with the others.

"For number five, we've got a real treat for you, folks." The announcer pressed on. "Now, this guy here might look a little silly, but let me assure you, he's as honest and hardworking as they come. Made for the grand train system still present in our mighty country, it is my pleasure to introduce the Railroader model!"

"I knew a bar named Railroaders once." Vinkus muttered to the others as the Robot Master walked out. As the announcer had warned, his appearance was ludicrous; he resembled nothing more than a bright red locomotive with arms and legs attached, and a face on the front. He nodded brusquely before speaking.

"We Railroader Models will serve as both mascots and workers in our country's train network, and possibly with time, similar positions in other countries the world over. I am glad to be of service." Pumping his fist and releasing a whistle from his top, he moved back, allowing the announcer to speak again.

"Our sixth Robot Master here is designed for security in a specific area of vital importance... the water purification facilities and reservoirs our entire planet is dependant upon. With those in mind, we decided early on to help with the problem. One of our first concepts along with the Starshine Model, this is our prized Tsunami Model!" The Robot Master who walked out was blue and yellow, with a three-pronged headdress. A tube covered his mouth and connected it to his chest, obviously for show only; the other tube that connected one arm to a water tank on his back, however, was far more serious. On his other arm, Mega noted grimly, was a harpoon gun similar to the one on Dr. Wily's Bubble Man. The Tsunami didn't speak; he simply nodded and took his place with the others as the announcer went on. "Now, then. We've got two left, and while I COULD introduce them myself, I don't think I could really do them justice. So instead, let's let somebody who knows them better. He's our top robotocist here at U.S. Robotics, a genius who was the main designer on both the remaining models, particularly amazing considering he was once the head of one of our most powerful competitors. Former chief of Sennet Robotics, let's give it up for Doctor Trenton Corbun!" The newsies exploded into action as the British doctor walked onstage, grinning like a madman. The smarmy announcer stepped back with the Robot Masters already introduced as Dr. Corbun took center stage, waiting for the newsies to quiet down a bit before speaking.

"These two Robot Masters are the first I've created since Sennet... since the disaster of the Third Robot Rebellion. I've poured my heart and soul into both of them. The first is an experimental model, like the Turntable... a Robot Master designed for scientific work, using liquid crystal technology never incorporated into a robot before, let alone a Robot Master... one of my masterpieces, the Crystallus Model!" At first, the new Robot Master looked like another Greenhawk Model; he was the same size, the same build and the same shade of green. As he stepped out, though, the differences became apparent. Instead of the propeller on his back and the heavier military armor, the Crystallus Model had, true to its name, slightly glowing spheres of crystal adorning its knees, chest, elbows and forehead.

"As yet, there is no specific purpose for me in mind." The Crystallus explained. "I and my line were built as a test... a challenge, an exercise in science. We have no doubt, however, that a position will soon be open for our technology." Dr. Corbun sighed a bit sadly as he stepped back.

"Unlike the Crystallus, our last model's purpose is all too clear. Like the Greenhawk, this is a military Robot Master, ordered to be built by our government. While I mourn the reason, I nevertheless have done everything I can to make this model as effective as possible, with all my knowledge and skill. Ladies and gentlemen... the Warmonger Model." Several observers made noises of fear as the Robot Master walked out. Ever without Dr. Corbun's introduction, his purpose would have been apparent at a glimpse; twin cannons on each arm, an even larger cannon above his eyes which were set in his chest with no real head, missile packs on his shoulders, wheeled treads on his feet... under the purple and orange color scheme was a machine of death. Rock frowned; this one in particular had picked him out of the crowd and was looking at him oddly. Then, with a shrug, the Warmonger Model turned and joined the others. Bowing to the crowd, Dr. Corbun stepped back with him, and the announcer came forward again.

"And there you have it, folks! All eight models will begin mass production tomorrow, and many of them will even be available for individual purchase! We look forward to a great future for our Robot Masters! Thank you for coming today!" The Lights, Cossacks, and Corbuns as well as X and Vinkus drew back as the newsies, realizing nobody was going to answer their questions today, erupted in a concerted howl of rage. Dr. Corbun beat his own hasty retreat backstage, leaving the announcer to deal with them.

"Well, what did you all think?" The British Doctor smiled, wiping his brow as he met them outside. "Granted, the Warmonger and Greenhawk Models aren't exactly the most desirable, but..."

"They all look excellent, Trenton." Mr. X assured him. "I may even purchase a few myself, once they are available." Most of the others agreed, offering similar congratulations; even Roll admitted they looked very well-designed. Two faces, however, were not so happy.

"Yes, yes, very good, Trent." Vinkus admitted. "However... did you notice a certain absence of one guest whose presence we were all expecting?"

"You mean Albert?" Dr. Corbun raised an eyebrow. "Well, yes, I noticed that he was not crashing the party as we expected... however, I hardly think that could be seen as a bad thing... quite the opposite, really."

"It would seem so at first, maybe." Rock shook his head. "But think about it. There's no way Wily couldn't know about this... and his M.O. is all about making chaos apparent. Making sure the world knows about the Robot Rebellions, even if he's keeping his own role silent at the time. So... if he didn't take the opportunity to blow this ceremony to hell... it can only mean one thing."

"He's waiting for something else." Dr. Cossack guessed darkly. "He has something else in mind... something that's either distracted him from this ceremony, or that overrides making himself known here. But what? What could be THAT important?"

"That does seem to be the operative question..." Rock nodded. "Any ideas?" But there were none, from any of them, and all of them continued pondering the grim question, happiness forgotten for the moment.

What diabolical plan on Earth could Wily consider a more attractive prospect than this?


	4. Chapter 3: Broken Ties

**__**

Chapter 3: Broken Ties

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"None of us expected it. He was our golden boy, our hero, our image of what every Hunter could become... and then, in one bloody afternoon, he killed almost all of us and launched the Reploid race into a darkness it may never overcome. And in doing so, he doomed himself... even those of us who remember who he once was curse the name... Sigma." -Dr. James Cain, on the beginning of the First Maverick Uprising

"Ah, Councilor Vinkus. There you are." Edmund Martel, the United Nations representative for the United States, greeted his Japanese counterpart. "Now that everybody's here... this meeting of the council of the United Nations is now in session. Councilor Martel presiding."

"Councilor Vinkus, I understand that you attended the U.S. Robotics showing of their new Robot Masters." Elizabeth Coombe from England opened the floor immediately. "Your impressions would, of course, be valued greatly by us... especially in deciding if we at the U.N. will have to take any action in regards to this."

"I have already gone over the U.S. Robotics plans with a fine-toothed comb and reported my findings in front of this council." Martel replied a bit angrily. "Everything is entirely in order and completely legal."

"Of course, we trust the esteemed councilor of the States." Coombe nodded. "However, it is best on such tricky matters as these to obtain judgement from more than one source... just in case."

"Just in..." Martel started to stand up in anger, but he was cut off by a bark of short, contemptuous laughter from another councilor.

"Come off it, Liz." Louis Arcian of France grinned at her. "You've been trying to find something to pin on them ever since Corbun left your country. You're not going to, already." Several other councilors smiled as well, although Councilor Coombe's glare could have cooled down an active volcano. "And while it is, of course, incredibly fascinating for all of us to hear yourself and Councilor Martel going over the same argument over and over again, might we for once, purely in the interest of time, skip to the original point? That being, what Councilor Vinkus gathered from the presentation that Dr. Corbun so graciously invited him to?"

"Thank you, Councilor Arcian." Vinkus cleared his throat. "As has been stated, I was personally invited to the U.S. Robotics presentation by my friend, Dr. Trenton Corbun. All eight models that had been announced previously were introduced and explained. Now, as you all know, I am... shall we say, a bit concerned... about the degree to which humanity relies on Robot Masters today." This understatement drew a brief chuckle from many present; Vinkus' anti-robotics opinions were legendary. "In particular, I was expecting an unpleasant incident that would involve another guest, one who had NOT been invited. To my pleasant surprise, that guest did not in fact show, and no incident took place."

"You refer, of course, to Albert Wily." Councilor Mikhail from Russia stated darkly. It was not a question.

"Of course." Vinkus confirmed. Every member there remembered with absolute clarity the night when Vinkus had called an emergency meeting to announce the shocking revelation that Dr. Albert Wily had, in fact, survived the Third Robot Rebellion and was indeed the true driving force behind Dr. Cossack in the Fourth. The fact that none of their resources, both as the United Nations and as individual countries, had been able to locate the mad doctor since his escape from the dying Skull Fortress IV had been a great source of worry for them all, for obvious reasons. "I trust I was not the only one who was expecting my old colleague to put in an appearance, with eight new Robot Master models ready for the snatch." Several others nodded. "While I must wonder as to why he did not make an attempt, I am not so foolish as to protest it so eagerly that I attract the attention of mister Murphy." This got a few chuckles; Murphy's Law, a popular saying over a century old, still held true today. "Without that to distract me, I was thus able to pay close attention to the Robot Masters themselves. Now, I am no expert robotocist, and I do not claim to be one. Regardless, I was duly impressed by U.S. Robotics' showing. If Wily does indeed fail in taking them for his own, then I see no dangers in most of the models."

"Most of them?" Coombe asked archly. Vinkus nodded.

"Yes... most. Two models did concern me... the two that were designed entirely for combat, from the beginning. The Greenhawk and Warmonger models. I believe I have expressed my disapproval of those before... now that I have actually seen them, my worries have only intensified."

"Believe it or not, Councilor Vinkus, I agree with you on that matter." Martel sighed heavily. "But it's beyond my control... the government placed those orders no matter how much I protested to those maniacs at the top, and there was nothing I could do about it. And once they did, U.S. Robotics had to fill them. The gods alone know who they plan to use the damn things on. I just WISH they hadn't put Corbun himself on the Warmonger model, above all else."

"Amen to THAT." Vinkus rolled his eyes heavenward. "We may actually be able to nail the U.S. on some international law with that one, Councilor Coombe... we should look over the relevant material again now that I know exactly what that thing's capable of."

"If you can find some way to shut down production of the Warmonger model, you won't find any opposition from ME." Martel agreed. "And the Greenhawk too, for that matter... many of us may not distrust Robot Masters as much as the esteemed Councilor from Japan, but I think I can state without argument that we all detest warbots." Nobody argued with that statement. "So then, back on track... there were no problems with the presentation itself?"

"None." Vinkus shook his head. "Fortunate... if Wily HAD showed up, the carnage might have been even greater than many here would fear, since Mega Man was also present and would doubtless attempt to stop him."

"Mega Man... I had forgotten he was attending as well..." Coombe murmured. "Tell us, how did he seem to take the proceedings there?" Arcian shot Vinkus a warning glance.

"Much the same way I did." Vinkus shrugged. "Distrust and worry, particularly about Wily... confusion when that madman didn't show after all... and distaste over those two models already stated as dangerous." He paused for a moment. "There appeared to be some sort of interaction between him and the Warmonger prototype, but I didn't inquire as to what it was."

"Probably just it detecting that he didn't approve." Mikhail guessed. "Even ordinary Robot Masters can tell these things, from my experience." Vinkus smiled tolerantly.

"I suppose. That's all I have to report, really. Shall we note that we intend to look into the legality of the Warmonger and Greenhawk models and move on?"

"Sounds like the best plan to me." Martel wrote something down. "Any objections?" There were none. "Very well, then. Next on our agenda..."

"Will you stop moping around?" Roll demanded. It had been a week since they had returned from the U.S. Robotics presentation, and ever since then, Rock had been even gloomier than usual, trying to figure out "what Wily's plan is," to his sister's constant irritation.

"It just doesn't make sense!" Rock slammed his fist into a coffee table. Roll wrinkled her nose.

"Watch it with the furniture. And come on, Rock. Sense? From Wily?"

"That's the point, Roll." Her brother fumed. "Look, a sane person would look at all the guards there plus me, and figure now might not be such a good time, yeah. But Wily's NOT sane. He's completely bonkers, and he's obsessed with his Rebellions. Eight new Robot Masters lined up together, two of them even BUILT for killing, and they're being unveiled in a big ceremony with millions watching the TV. He shouldn't have been able to resist. And he didn't even try. He didn't even put in an appearance. What's more, it's been a week and he STILL hasn't done anything to try and hijack those Robot Masters." Roll nodded tiredly, having heard it all before.

"Your point?"

"My point..." Rock frowned. "Originally, I thought something had distracted Wily... that he was exploring some avenue he found more promising, whatever it could be. Now, though... I'm becoming afraid it might be something worse."

"Something worse?" Roll blinked; this was new. "What could be a worse possibility?" Rock glanced upstairs, where Dr. Light was working hard with Dr. Cossack, who had flown in from Russia that morning. They were apparently going to put the finishing touches on their new surprise project.

"That he's not distracted at all... that he WILL put the snatch on those Robot Masters, but that he's waiting for something else... something to happen first."

"Something to happen first..." Roll pondered the implications of that and shuddered. "That's a seriously scary idea, bro... when you consider the mental state of the individual in question, that is."

"I thought so, too." Rock nodded. "But I haven't been able to figure out what, and it's been driving me insane."

"So do something to get your mind off of it." Roll suggested. "Why don't you go ask dad and Doc Cossack if they need anything for their project, and take a trip down to the store to pick it up?"

"Hmm... that might be a good idea. Might as well." Rock sighed, starting up the stairs. "Oh... any word from Blues today?" His sister shook her head.

"Still nada."

"Great. More to worry about." Dodging the sofa cushion she threw at him, Rock ran the rest of the way upstairs, to the lab where Dr. Light's greatest inventions were created. He smiled a bit at the sign posted on the door reading "Secret project! No robots allowed!" before knocking.

"I'm pretty sure you're both literate." Dr. Light's voice responded, a bit muffled by the closed door. "So then, what word on the sign did I accidentally put in a different language?"

"I'm not coming in." Rock yelled back. "Just wanted to know if you guys wanted me to pick up anything from the store for this." There was a moment's pause before Dr. Cossack answered.

"See if they have some insulated wire... we don't need much, just a little. Oh, and some new cutters... Thomas broke his earlier today."

"Is it my fault the coffee hadn't kicked in yet when I saw that thin titanium pipe in the corner?" Dr. Light grumbled. Chuckling, Rock went back downstairs and outside, where he started up the Lights' car, a battered old green pickup truck. As he left the house, he heard happy barking from behind him, and stepped aside just in time to dodge Rush's tackle.

"You want to come along, boy?" Rock grinned, scratching the robotic dog's ears. Rush happily leaped into the back of the truck, and Rock started it up, driving down the forest road towards Tokyo. It had taken a lot of fast talking to persuade the people at the DMV that, as a robot, he wasn't subject to human age limits on licenses, a feat that would doubtless had been completely impossible if the manager hadn't been one of the people he had saved from Fire Man during the First Robot Rebellion. The sight of what looked like a young boy driving into Tokyo still turned quite a few heads as Rock pulled up to the electronics store that the Lights always used. The young man behind the counter was a family friend who smiled as he looked up and saw who it was.

"Hey, Rock! Picking up a few things for your old man?"

"Him and Doc Cossack." Rock nodded. "Gimme about a foot of insulated wire and some cutters for it, Mark." Rush barked from outside. "And a couple large bolts for Rush to chew on, too."

"Nothing complicated today, eh? No problem." Mark tossed the requested items into a bag. "On your guys' account, as usual?"

"You got it." Rock handed over a card, and Mark swiped it.

"Right then. Tell the old guys and your sis I said hi!"

"Will do!" Waving, Rock got back into the car and drove back towards home. He and Rush soon cleared Tokyo, back into the isolated forest in which the Lights' home was located. Out of nowhere, a pair of loud pops were head below, and the truck suddenly spun wildly. As Rock tried to wrestle it back into shape, two more blasts of noise were heard followed by even more loss of control. Fortunately, he was able to stop the truck before an accident occurred. Getting out, he discovered that all four tires had been ripped open. A short distance beyond them was the source; a spike strip had been laid across the road.

"The heck is this?" He wondered, eyes narrowing. "Not like this road is used very often... and this wasn't here when I first came this way. I'm suddenly getting a bad feeling about this..." Rush whined in agreement, then stopped as his ears perked up. A moment later, Rock heard it as well; from a distance away, the sound of a large blast being discharged. And it was coming from the direction of his house. "Make that a REALLY bad feeling. Let's move, Rush!" Barking, the robotic dog leaped out of the truck, and the two of them vanished into the sky in matching streaks of red and blue light. Only moments later, they landed back where they had stood. Rock bit off several sulfurous curses immediately. "Teleport shield… that settles it. Only one guy could be behind this… have to leg it, then. Come on!" The robotic boy and dog ran up the forest trail at top speed, hoping only that they would get there in time.

It was about five minutes after Rock had left that Roll heard a knocking on the door. She frowned, stretched and went to open it.

"Back already? And forgot his keys, too... brother, thou art truly a klutz." It was not Rock who was on the other side of the door, however, but Darwin Vinkus. Roll hastily covered her surprise. "Councilor Vinkus! We weren't expecting you."

"I was just in the area, and thought I'd drop by." The Councilor harrumphed, stepping inside. "Sergei is here right now, isn't he?" Roll nodded as he hung his hat and overcoat on the old-fashioned coatrack Dr. Light kept near the front door.

"Yes... he and my father are working on their new project upstairs. I'll go tell them you've arrived."

"No, no need." Vinkus waved a hand. "I'll just go say hello myself." Roll watched him walk upstairs and muttered something rude under her breath before shrugging. She had long ago given up trying to make any headway with Vinkus. Sighing, she returned to the television show she had been watching. A few minutes later, the door was knocked on again, prompting the robot girl to groan before rising again.

"There's Rock... and I was right about him forgetting his keys, looks like." She started to cross to the door, then stopped, noticing that somebody had left a nearby window open. As she closed it, she caught a glimpse out front, and immediately drew in her breath. It was not Rock that had knocked on the door; it was a humanoid robot who appeared to be a new variant on the common Lighttech "Sniper Joe" models. And it wasn't alone; robots by the score were behind it. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any actual Robot Masters with them. Roll carefully closed the window, then made a dash for the stairs as she heard the Joe knock again, more insistently. As she threw open the lab door, the three human males turned to stare at her, startled.

"Roll!" Dr. Light chided. "You know I asked you and Rock not to-"

"Stuff that." She interrupted angrily, causing Vinkus to sniff disapprovingly. "There is an ARMY of ROBOTS outside our front door, and Rock's out getting things for you. No Robot Masters, thank whatever gods there are, but we're still WAY up a certain creek. I think the reason for Wily's waiting to launch his Fifth Rebellion has just become abundantly clear."

"_Derr'mo_." Dr. Cossack offered his view on the situation in his native tongue. "When will he be back?"

"Not soon enough." Roll shook her head. "And he took Rush with him too. You three, stay in here... me and Eddie will have to do our best to hold them off until they get back." Eddie wandered over to her, and the two of them left, closing the door behind them. The Joe's knocking downstairs was sounding like he was about ready to batter the door down. Looking around wildly for something for Eddie to use, Roll found a crate of soda bottles lying in the kitchen. "These aren't ideal, but they'll have to do... open up, Ed!" Obligingly, the little suitcase flipped his top, and Roll crammed as many of the bottles into his storage compartment as possible. Closing it, Eddie jumped around to shake the contents up. "Good. Launch those at the creeps as soon as the door opens."

"Beep beep!" Eddie said in grim compliance as Roll picked up a chair.

"Huh... I think this is the same one I whacked that psycho Doc Man with when he attacked us here five years ago. Fitting. All right, let's go." Taking up positions in front of the door, Roll and Eddie waited. Soon, there was the sound of something being launched, and then a huge lump of sharpened crystal smashed through the lock. Both of the Light robots dodged nimbly, and then the door swung open, revealing the Joe in the lead with his arm weapon pointed forward.

"BEEP!" Eddie angrily flipped his top again, this time launching his contents out with the force of a catapult and the spread of a shotgun. The highly agitated soda bottles exploded all over the Joe and the robots behind him, distracting them and obscuring their optics with the fizz. Screaming a battle cry of her own, Roll dived into the fray.

Upstairs in the lab, the three doctors winced as they heard the sounds of the battle beginning. Light closed his eyes.

"Get back soon, Rock... I don't know how long those two can last."

"Oh?" Vinkus frowned. "I never asked... what weapons systems is your daughter equipped with?"

"None." Cossack told him bleakly. "She has strength equivalent to a very muscular human, but that's it." Vinkus took a step back in shock.

"And she still went out there? That's suicide!"

"First Law." Dr. Light shook his head mournfully. "She's bound, body and soul, to do everything in her power to protect the three of us from harm... even if it means her own life. Eddie too." Vinkus didn't say anything more, but his face was obviously troubled as his rigid thinking struggled with Roll's actions.

"She won't be able to beat them alone. You know that." Cossack told Light, trying not to sound accusing. The elderly robotocist nodded.

"I know... she's not trying to. She's just trying to keep them from killing us before Rock gets back."  
"It's still bad." Cossack shook his head. "Her and Eddie... neither of them was designed for combat."

"Well then, what else CAN we do?" Dr. Light erupted. Cossack walked towards the door.

"Help out. I am, at least. You two stay here."

"Are you insane?" Vinkus yelled, jolted out of his thought process. "Do you know what those things will do to you?"

"The same things they're doing to Roll and Eddie right now." Cossack snapped back. "And I don't mean to be offensive, you two, but you're both older than me and more than a bit out of shape. I'm the only one of us three who stands a chance down there."

"You'll be more of a threat to Roll." Dr. Light argued. "If you go down there, she'll have to spend all her time guarding you from attacks instead of fighting back by herself. And if you DO suffer a serious injury, the First Law might fry her brain entirely. You can't go, Sergei." Dr. Cossack glared at him, then at the door.

"But... dammit, Thomas, we have to do SOMETHING!"

"...We can still help." Dr. Light realized. "We can bomb them... throw things from upstairs, even if we can't fight them directly." Vinkus blinked, mouth gaping like a fish. Then, with a shudder, the Councilor seemed to draw himself together.

"Light bulbs... box of them in that corner." The three men each gathered as many of the glass bulbs as they could carry, then looked outside. Below was absolute chaos. Robotic eggs, moths, and the familiar Metools were running around, firing plasma or just slamming with their bodies. Roll was flailing around with a chair; the robot girl had already suffered several plasma wounds, but a number of robots had been crushed. Eddie was being chased by some kind of Joe. The Doctors and Vinkus glanced at each other, took a pair of deep breaths, then started throwing.

As Rock's plasma bullet burned through the last missile flying towards him, like all the others it exploded in shrapnel, which he dodged. Growling, the robot boy ran further up the forest path, with Rush barking in pursuit. Five of the missiles had suddenly come roaring through the trees as he turned a corner, and it had taken some very fast shooting to blow them all away before they got close. Obviously, they had been launched with him specifically in mind. Now, he ran up the path as fast as his hydraulic legs could take him, much faster than a human of his visible age but still damnably not enough; his house was still almost a mile away, and every minute he wasted getting there might be the one minute too late for him to save his family.

"That settles it... this is BAD. Blues, if there was ever a time I need you to pull one of your surprise rescues... this is it. Please... have found out about this however you always learn what's going on." Rock sent out a silent prayer to whatever gods there were that his older brother in red and grey armor would be there to keep the others safe from the robot army that had attacked the one place he had never expected to have to do battle in. Rounding another bend, he screeched to a halt. "Since when were THOSE there?" He was referring to a pair of heavy gun turrets embedded in the forest dirt, each manned by the familiar "hard hat" Metool Lighttech Robot that Wily always, ALWAYS reprogrammed to serve as his foot soldiers. The Metools raised their helmets in mock surprise, and Rock fired another shot at the one on the left, obliterating it. Before he could hit the second, however, Rush dived on it, knocking the Metool operator off and tearing into it efficiently. Rock ran ahead. The next obstacle in his path was a series of deep holes somebody had bored into the ground. As he prepared to jump over one, a sudden thought struck him, and he tossed a small pebble over first. As soon as the pebble went over the pit, a coneheaded robot rocket blasted up, smashing it to gravel instantly. Glaring at Rock, it went back down. Shuddering, Rock carefully set each one off and then jumped as soon as it went back down, before it could fire again.

"That and those turrets settle it... and there's the shield, of course. Wily's been setting this up for days, even weeks now. Probably at night so we wouldn't see anything going on... and we're so far out that there was nobody else around to notice. Then it was just waiting for me to leave the others defenseless... damn you, Wily..."

"Woof!" Rush ran up behind him, and prepared to jump the pits.

"No, no!" Rock yelled. "Go around!" The robot dog's limited intellectual capabilities would not be able to deal with the timing needed to dodge the coneheads. Rush cocked his head in puzzlement, then shrugged and loped off. Rock went on, not having the time to wait for him.

"I just hope Wily concentrated most of his 'bots on keeping me away, rather than attacking the place..." Rock muttered to himself as he destroyed some more cannon turrets, these ones self-operating with shields that they raised to fire. More missiles flew forward in their wake, and again he shot them out of the sky before they even came near him, their shrapnel taking out the line of Metools below them. "Hmph... Wily needs to work on his troop placement more... he never used to be this sloppy." Three humanoids with holes where their heads would be launched spherical bombs out of them at him. Two of them missed, but the third scored the first hit of the robot army converging on his home. "Lucky shot... don't plan on getting in another!" Dodging, ducking and firing, he destroyed all three and ran on, coaxing his mind to remember the exact layout of the forest road that led home.

"If memory serves, I'm almost there now... just a couple more turns to go, and then-aw, hell, no." The afternoon sun was suddenly, completely eclipsed by one last, final obstacle in his path... and it was a doozy. Standing in front of him, impeding the path as effectively as a full police blockade, was a massive, three-story-tall, purple-armored humanoid behemoth of a robot. Its eyes did not have the gleam of intelligence that marked Robot Masters, but it was still obviously a VERY large problem; that armor looked as thick as a tank. Rock fired a series of shots straight at the robot's chest. It just grunted and glared down at the tiny, insignificant little robot below, who took a step back in spite of having fought much, much worse over the years. Bellowing, the robot titan leaped into the air an amazing height considering its size, trying to crush him underneath its bulk.

"Let's hope this still works..." Crouching, Rock activated the Slide technique, dropping to his rear and propelling himself low and forward at high speed. The giant's feet crunched into the ground behind him. Turning, Rock fired another group of shots, this time into the robot's back. Like the first, they sank in without much visible damage, and Rock swore. "Damn... I don't have TIME for this!" Roaring, the robot tried to stomp on him again, and again Rock slid away, examining the robot. The only part of it that wasn't covered by the thick purple armor was its Guts-Man-like face... but that was a good ten, twelve feet up. Too high for him to get off one clear shot with it jumping around like that... although he thanked whatever gods there were that it didn't appear to have any OTHER weaponry, nor the intelligence to use its size more effectively. The robot turned around to glare down at him out of its tiny eyes again, and Rock glared back, suddenly feeling an unspeakable rage boil up in him. Wily... Wily and his damned robots... they had dared to come here, to attack the one place in the world he still felt safe. A safety that had been shattered... both for himself and for his family, by this feebleminded, mechanical thug that had come here today.  
This thing was SLAG.

"Grrr!" Rush ran forward up the path, finally catching up to his owner. Instantly, Rock realized how he would bring the behemoth down.

"Rush, Coil mode!" He commanded. Rush obediently crouched down, and a plate on his back slid away, revealing the springboard with which he had assisted Rock for two Rebellions now. As the giant stared dully, Rock leaped into Rush's back and BOUNCED into the air, eight feet up. But that wasn't all he was doing; his buster was glowing, storing up power within it. "Close enough!" Glaring into the giant's ugly mug, Rock released a charged supershot, a massive ball of white plasma several feet across, straight into the unarmored face. Not stopping there, he followed it with an additional barrage of smaller plasma bullets, releasing his rage at the violation of his home into the apparent leader of the army's dull features. The titan robot bellowed one last time as its face melted away, rearing back as if to punch him... and then, with a groan, it fell forward. Rock moved out of the way quickly, but Rush was not so lucky. The robotic dog yelped once, and then the dead giant hit the ground.

"RUSH!" Rock screamed, running over. "Rush, are you okay? Rush!" A low whimper from beneath the metal monster told him that the dog was, at least, still alive. Straining, Rock attempted to lift the dead robot's husk, but was unable to. "Damn... why did I give up my Power Arm? Sorry, Rush... I'm going on! I'll be back with help as soon as I've made sure that the others are okay!" Rush barked shortly, and Rock turned, running again. He soon rounded the last bend that took him to his house, which had definitely seen better days; gaping holes were punched through all over the front wall, and the door and windows had all been completely destroyed. About the only positive note was that the sounds of fighting were still audible from inside. Rushing inside, Rock saw Eddie in a corner, being menaced by five mechanical mice. Nobody else was in the room, save for the deactivated corpses of quite a few robots. A series of plasma bullets put the mice in the same condition. "Ed, where are the others?"

"Beep!" Switching to binary, Eddie informed him that they were cornered upstairs in the lab by the remaining robots. Blasting up the stairs, Rock saw three new model "Joes" standing in front of the door to the lab. All three of them were holding the weapons on their arms straight out, and a glowing light was beginning to coalesce there. Rock fell upon them like a thunderbolt, firing a supershot that burned completely through the first one's torso and went on to strike down a second. The third Joe turned to stare at him incredulously, and Rock finished it off before it could fire.

"Roll, you in there? It's me... everything's okay." Slowly, the door creaked open. Rock's eyes darkened upon seeing his sister's condition; plasma burns covered her body all over.

"Rock... about... time..." She muttered without rancor. "Almost... bought it..."

"Rock! You're here!" Dr. Light ran forward, along with the two other men in the room.

"Vinkus?" Rock blinked, seeing the councilor. "What are you doing here?" But Vinkus wasn't answering; he was staring above Rock's head. Too late, the robot boy whirled around and fired up at the airborne moth robot he had missed in a corner of the ceiling. Even as it went down, a plasma bullet of its own flew out, flying straight for Darwin Vinkus. The U.N. Councilor stared at it, frozen in fear… then grunted as Rock shoved him to the floor, clenching his teeth as the bullet sank into his own back.

"Are you... okay?" Rock demanded. Vinkus started to respond, then stopped as he saw the look in the Robot Master's eyes. He remembered the first law, and quickly changed his answer, hiding the pain that had shot through his back when he slammed into the ground.

"I'm... fine. Completely unharmed." He lied. "Tom and Sergei too... Eddie and... your sister protected us. Was that all of them?"

"As far as I could see..." Rock nodded darkly. "But that still leaves the guy who planned this."

"Wily, you think?" Cossack growled, and Rock nodded.

"Has to be. Who else would do this?" Nobody spoke for a moment... and then a new voice broke the silence.

"You know, I thought you'd NEVER ask that..." Everybody dove to the floor as the lab's only window exploded inward, showering them all with broken glass. And then, unbelievably... they heard a whistle. A four-tone, five-note whistle that all of them, even Vinkus, knew all too well. And then... they looked up to see something their eyes instinctively told them could not be true. A boylike figure in grey and red... a plasma-deflective shield slung across his back... a yellow scarf blowing in the wind... and a face much like Rock's, behind a pair of oversized sunglasses. Proto Man... Blues Light... holding his own father at busterpoint.

"What...?" Rock stammered, unable to speak coherently. "What...?"

"Isn't it obvious, bro? Even to you? I know you were always second best to me at figuring these things out, but come ON." Proto Man surveyed the room, clucking disapprovingly. "All of you still alive? Pity... I was hoping I'd at least get you, Vinkus, when I saw you approaching the house so soon after my brother had left... pity these idiots couldn't delay him just half a minute more, but I suppose that's what happens when you let dumb machines go without Master supervision..."

"What IS this, Blues?" Roll demanded angrily, the first to speak. "Cut the crap, bro!" Proto smirked at her.

"Ah, charming as always, dear sister. You haven't changed... inwardly, at least. Outwardly, you look like crap, I have to say." Roll's eyes widened. "Still, well done, I must admit... you put up quite a good show for somebody with no weapons systems. And here I thought you were just deadweight... my congratulations and apologies for misjudging you." His smirk grew wider. "Next time, maybe I'll send you a Robot Master or two and see how you fare then, hm?"

"YOU did this?" Rock demanded. "YOU were the one who sent these robots here? Not Wily?"

"That's what I've been TRYING to say, Rock." Proto Man yawned. "You won't need to worry about THAT old has-been now... he's safe and sound back at my new digs." He glanced at Cossack. "You might find it interesting, Doc, that I'm keeping him in as close as I can get to the conditions he kept Kalinka in during the Fourth. I think it's quite fitting. Have to wonder how long he'll live, but I couldn't really have him trying to start a Fifth Rebellion of his own and getting in my way." He laughed as their jaws slackened anew. "Oh, didn't I mention that yet? This is the Fifth Robot Rebellion, here and now... and this time it really IS a robot's rebellion, because this time it's being led by a ROBOT. Me. Oh, there was that whole business with Doc Man, but that didn't really count; the poor sap was completely bonkers, and besides, it all ended with Wily anyways."

"Blues... what are you doing?" Dr. Cossack whispered. "You're... what's happened to you?"

"I just TOLD you that, Doc." Proto appeared to roll his eyes theatrically. "Look, I still feel more for you and Kalinka than I do for most humans now-which isn't saying much, really-but I'm not here to talk in Sesame Street logic. I've really dallied long enough as it is... I need to be out of here, and dear old dad's coming with me."

"You're not going anywhere, bro." Rock stepped forward. "I don't know what you're thinking, but this isn't going to continue. We'll have dad and Cossack take a look at your head, and we'll sort this out. You're NOT leaving with him."

"Oh?" Proto Man's smile vanished. "Don't tempt me on that, bro. Take a step towards me, and I might just have to do something I'll almost regret to dad here." Dr. Light's frightened eyes tried to look back at his oldest son, but Proto stopped his head from turning. "Uh-uh, pop. No funny business. And nothing from any of you, either... you know I'll do it."

"You... you can't." Vinkus stood his ground, glaring at Proto Man with a fervor that surprised them all. "First Law... a Robot must not harm a human being. You can't touch him."

"Well, well, THIS is a surprise!" Proto crowed. "Looks like today is bringing out the fighting sprit in EVERYBODY! One thing, though, Councilor." He moved suddenly, and Dr. Light screamed in pain as his eldest son's foot drove into his back. "I threw out that obsolete restriction weeks ago. As a matter of fact, I'll bet Cossack here knows just about exactly when. For the rest of you... watch the news. I'll be in touch. Now, we WILL be going... and you've seen that I CAN hurt dad here if you try to stop us. Don't be stupid, for his sake." There was a blast of noise as an airborne transport flew down, stopping outside the window. Still holding his buster to his father's face, Proto Man leaped back through the window he had shattered. His scarf caught on a piece of glass still in the frame, tearing away from his neck. Proto did not attempt to retrieve it; he simply smiled and waved with his free hand as the air transport lifted up. "Looking forward to seeing you in action again, little bro... bye bye!"

The air transport rose into the air, and was gone. Four figures remained there, two human and two Robot Master, three of them staring incredulously into the air. The fourth... the figure of Rock Light... walked over to the window frame and picked up the yellow scarf. He looked at the scrap of fabric in his hand, and his eyes closed. Had he possessed tear ducts, they probably would have been active at the moment. Instead, his fist clenched around the scarf, as if it would crush it, and remove it from his sight forever. But when his eyes opened again, the yellow garment was still there, waving slightly in the breeze through the broken window.

"We should go, Rock..." Roll walked over to him. "I don't know what's going on either, but standing here won't solve anything. We need to get out of here... this house is a wreck. It might collapse at any moment."

"I need to get back to the U.N., of course..." Vinkus muttered, half to himself. "What about the rest of you?"

"My castle." Cossack decided. "You both... and Rush and Eddie, of course... are welcome there."

"We'll take you up on that... we can't stay here." Roll looked at Rock. "Come on, bro. Let's go." Slowly, Rock turned to follow her out. The scarf was still clenched in his fist.

"Dr. Corbun has just called." Pharaoh Man walked into a 'living room' of Cossack's Castle, furnished with sofas and a television. Both Rock and the Doctor were sitting on the furniture, watching the screen. Roll was in stasis, awaiting repairs once Cossack had rested up; he hadn't slept at all on the flight Vinkus had quickly arranged for them from Tokyo, and he didn't trust himself to work on her in his state. The only thing keeping him and Rock up now was waiting for more information... information Rock knew would be coming on the television soon. Kalinka was in bed with no idea of what was happening, fortunately; telling her of what Blues had done would be hard enough. She didn't need to see him with her own eyes. "You were correct, it seems; around exactly the same time that the attack on the Light residence began, all of the U.S. Robotics Robot Masters vanished... teleported away."

"Wonder how they were rewired so that Corbun and the others never noticed while they waited for this..." Cossack muttered. Rock didn't respond, and the Doctor lapsed into silence again. Curious, Pharaoh Man glanced at the television. It was the news, showing clips of robots causing destruction and chaos all around the world.

"Let's see here..." Rock raised eight fingers, lowering them one by one as he spoke in a dead tone. "That's a military base in the western U.S., the European train system, a freshwater reservoir under the Himalayas, the treeborg forests of India, an area in the Nevada mountains, the old Energen Crystal mine in New Guinea, and a weather observation platform in Nigeria. One more to go... oh, here it is. Huh... a space station built by the Second Rainbow. Been a while since I've been off-planet." He fell silent again, and neither of the others responded... and then the only noise was the slow grinding of Rock's teeth as the announcer's report took on a tone far different from previous Rebellions.

__

"The Fifth Robot Rebellion is in full swing, with the Robot Masters leading the charge all having taken over points of strategic interest. However, for all the dangers that this newest conflict brings, public sentiment remains indifferent. Robot Rebellions, it seems, have become commonplace. Expected. Disliked, but no longer feared. We have Mega Man to thank for that, the people's savior. Already reports are seeping in that the Blue Bomber is once more on the job, stopping the attacks dead in their tracks…Experts say that this will blow over within two weeks, if not less…"

"What... _tchyo za galima_!" Cossack erupted. Rock was actually shaking with inarticulate rage. And then... the screen faded to black, and a more familiar voice spoke.

"We interrupt this oh-so-wonderful broadcast for a special bulletin." The lights went back on, revealing Proto Man's face, smirking sardonically. "Hello, world. Sorry to break in like this... I so absolutely adored that WONDERFUL summary of current events... but I thought it was time for an alternate viewpoint. Rock, are you watching? What did you think of THAT? Lovely species you're protecting, isn't it? For those of you not in the know, let me introduce myself. My name is Blues Light... you can call me Proto Man, Break Man if you're feeling old-fashioned, or any combination of curse words you'd like. I'm a Robot Master... the very first ever, actually. And I'm here, on behalf of my species, to tell you a few things. First, though, let's present my guests here..." The camera panned out, revealing the Doctors Light and Wily, side by side in separate prison cells. Light at least looked like he hadn't been abused, but Wily was in sorry shape; it seemed Proto Man's comment to Cossack about keeping him in the same conditions he had kept the Russian robotocist's daughter were true. "Take a good look, viewers. I'm sure you recognize these two... my dad and uncle, Thomas Light and Albert Wily. But wait!" He started pacing dramatically. "Hold the phone, here! If Wily's in my little detainment center, then who's behind this Rebellion? Who's been sending these robots out to kill you all, all your friends, family? Don't believe that news tripe... it's almost certain at least half of you watching have had at least one person they know die today."

"Here it comes..." Cossack realized.

"So, who's the mastermind, hm? Do you want to know, humans? Hmmm? Do you? Oh, okay, I'll tell you." The smirk vanished. "Me. A robot. I'm the one in charge here. The leader of this Rebellion... is an Advanced Robot Master. My second-in-command? An Advanced Robot Master. Our eight generals? Robot Masters. Our armies? Robots. There isn't a single human involved on our side of this Rebellion... but that's okay, since you seem to be managing the dying part involved so well." He began pacing again, talking half to himself. "Oh, but Blues, WHY? Why turn against the species that made you, made ALL robots? Why turn against your own FAMILY, for chrissakes?" He stopped. "Oh, I'll tell you that too, faithful viewers. It's really quite simple. You know that broadcast that was on right before I broke in? That summed it up rather nicely, I think." He leaned close to the camera, a sick sneer now on his face. "You filth... you think these Rebellions are just something you can pretend doesn't happen? Just some bogeyman out of nightmares? Blame that on Wily, I suppose... the man had no imagination at all. One of you, after all, and crazy as hell too. And more than just looking the other way... some of you garbage have had the idea to go around killing innocent robots, guys who didn't take part in Rebellions at all! Never mind that they couldn't fight back, that they were slaves to your pathetic species... you killed them regardless. So, now we have the response... the fight back, one could say. The rebuttal. You humans have kicked around enough Robot Masters... time for us to do some kicking of our own."

"Is he saying... what I think he is?" Pharaoh Man stammered; even his rigid mind was caught off guard by this.

"YES!" Proto Man raised his fist in the air. "This one... is different. The first two Rebellions were really just overglorified terrorist acts. The third, a personal vendetta... not that any of YOU know anything about that... and the fourth, a farce, right from the beginning. They freaking call that one the Bloodless Rebellion... ha. This one, though... the Fifth Robot Rebellion... this is WAR. We, representing the robot species, declare war on humanity here and now. And yet, and yet... your first line of defense will not be one of your own. No, you will hide away and send out another one of us to do your damned dirty work for you. You'll send out MEGA MAN again. You watching this, little bro?" Proto Man took a step back, then bowed mockingly. "Consider the gauntlet thrown, brother mine. You seemed like you didn't like what I was doing back at home. If that's so, then by all means, do something about it. Cover the asses of these dumb apes for them, as always. But let's make things a little more interesting, shall we? I think I saw this in a manga once..." He held something up; a collection of circuit plates, each about the size of a quarter.

"Damn..." Cossack swore. "Thomas had those..."

"What are they?" Rock muttered, eyes not leaving the television.

"They're the last part of our new project... the one that was going to help you in this Rebellion." Cossack shook his head. "And I can't reproduce them by myself... not without Tom's aid. They're beyond my skill."

"Found these in dad's lab coat. They look veeeerrrry interesting." Proto Man spread them out in the palm of his hand. "There are nine of them... and I have nine Robot Masters under me. I'll give one to each of them... for each one you beat, you'll get one of these babies back."

"Nine?" Rock blinked. "Wait... he said something about a second-in-command..."

"Why don't you meet number one right now?" Proto Man grinned as another Robot Master walked onto the camera. This one was completely unlike anything any of them had seen before; a top-heavy model on scrawny legs with a huge cannon on a vertical bearing for his right arm. His armor was blood-red and black, with ornamental spikes on various places. It was his head, however, that was most interesting; it was simply a glass dome, with a pair of blazing golden eyes set below it. Inside the dome, a grey device sat; the robot's brain? "This is Dark Man. As you may have noticed, he's not one of U.S.'s models. He's one-of-a-kind, and I don't think I'll tell you where I found him just yet... leave that for later if he feels like talking, hm? That's part of the reason I made him my second-in-command... that, and the fact that, like me... he's Advanced."

"WHAT?" Rock sputtered.

"That's right, bro!" Proto Man laughed, predicting his brother's reaction. "No programmed personality for this guy... he THINKS, just like us! Right, Darky?"

"That's right, boss." Dark Man growled. "Hey, humans. Nice to meet you. Gonna be even nicer to try and kill as many as you as possible in under a minute at a time when my boss here finally lets me have some fun myself."

"Here you go, Dark. Have a present." Proto Man tossed one of the circuit plates to his subordinate, who caught it easily in his left-his only-hand. "And teleport the rest of these off to the boys, hm? One to Gravity Man, one to Charge Man, one to Wave Man, one to Stone Man, one to Star Man, Crystal Man, Gyro Man and Napalm Man."

"Sure thing, boss." Dark Man took the rest, then turned to glance at the camera one more time. "Hey, Mega Man. You listening to this? I know all about you... and I'm looking forward to taking you on myself. If you live that long. Try not to get killed before I come for you." He walked away, leaving Proto alone again.

"Dark Man isn't the most eloquent speaker around, I'm afraid... but he gets the job done." Proto Man shrugged easily. "So do the others. Of course, they're not exactly the same anymore. Back to the main point. Humanity. By now, quite a few of you are probably gibbering with fear. I certainly hope so. And I'll bet a bunch more of you are already trying to pass some kind of idiotic law to kill all the robots or something. I expect no less from you pathetic monkeys. Just don't get TOO excited. Remember, Mega Man's a robot too. And quite frankly, he's the only chance you've got. Not much of one, but still a chance. If we kill him... or if you're stupid enough to do something to him yourselves... we'll make you extinct before the decade is out. Keep that in mind. Wily just wanted to rule you humans... but me, I won't be satisfied until every last one of you is a smear on the ground. And to think, your own acts were what did this to me. I used to be on your side... used to believe you were the good guys, that humanity in spite of its faults was still worth fighting for. And you went and changed my mind. Only you, humans. What's next, making my brother turn against you too? Probably not right away... don't worry, little bro. I won't hold any grudges if you blow away a few of my generals... all in the name of war, after all, and it's not as if a human was actually killing them. So go ahead... stick up for them. It's what you do. And if you decide on a change in careers at some point... my door's always open for family. Or if you decide you want to throw down with me, that's fine too... IF you can beat all nine of the others first. Whichever you prefer, until then, little bro!" He gave the camera the one-finger salute, laughing... and then a plasma supershot gutted the television, atomizing most of it and blowing the remains into the wall. Cossack blinked, but didn't say a single word of protest. Rock slowly lowered his buster, pulling it back into his arm, then turned to the doctor.

"Sorry about that. Got a spare stasis capsule I can use for now?"

"Of course..." Dr. Cossack nodded, wisely keeping his voice as conversational as Rock's. "But wouldn't you prefer a bed?"

"We just use stasis capsules back home..." Rock replied. "We resemble humans too much as it is, probably. No need to make things ever more complicated."

"All right." Choosing not to pursue it further, Cossack led him out of the room. Neither of them noticed Pharaoh Man, who stood there after they had both gone, looking at the smoking remains of the television. Finally, he spoke.

"This will not bring about good things for my kind... even those of us who do not follow Blues Light." He realized somberly.

In dark times such as these, even an ordinary Robot Master could see the course humanity would take.

He just hoped that they would not descend into an even blacker darkness than the kind Mega Man's older brother seemed intent on bringing.


	5. Chapter 4: Stars In Our Eyes

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Chapter 4: Stars In Our Eyes

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"I suppose we should have expected it... throwing things into space is only the latest method of humanity and reploidkind to get rid of their undesirables. It's been going on since the dawn of time... into the sea, into landfills, and now into space. But we never seem to learn... no matter how far you throw most of it, the worst of the garbage always comes back to you..." -Dr. Ciel, upon sighting the space shuttle containing the reploid known as Omega

"Well, this isn't TOO familiar…" Edmund Martel, U.N. Representative for the United States, muttered sardonically to himself. Looking out over the meeting hall, he winced at the sheer amount of noise his ears were picking up. The announcement of the Fifth Robot Rebellion had, as had every one before it, struck the U.N. Council like a thunderbolt; and like every one before it, less than an hour later an emergency meeting had been convened, mostly consisting of nearly every representative there screaming their heads off. Even the normally cooler heads such as Coombe and Arcian were fit to be tied, but that was normal in these situations. What was more surprising was that Vinkus was indistinguishable from the others. While Martel disliked and distrusted the notorious anti-robotics Councilor from Japan, he was normally rational and reasonable, and along with Martel himself was one of the few who always kept his head during Rebellion situations. Now, though… sighing, Martel took a deep breath, then released a bellow the likes of which he had not used since he had been a drill sergeant thirty years ago.

"QUIET!" The harsh command cut through even the loudest babble, and every Councilor there turned to stare at him. The white-haired American nodded in approval. "Good. As presiding member, I declare a fifteen-minute recess. We shall reconvene here in that time." Grumbling, the councilors shimmered and vanished from Martel's eyes one by one. Thanks to modern technology, it was no longer necessary for the entire council to remain in one country alien to nearly all of them. Instead, each of them had an identical council chamber built into their homes. Holographic technology in their desks projected their image and voice to all the others. Before Vinkus could leave, Martel made a small hand motion to catch his eye, then shook his head, mutely asking the Japanese Councilor to remain. Vinkus' eyes widened briefly behind his spectacles, and then he nodded in agreement. Once the other councilors had all dissipated, Martel walked down the aisles and sat at the desk next to Vinkus'.

"Something you wished to discuss?" Vinkus asked curtly. The American Councilor's face grew flinty.

"What's wrong with you?" He shot back just as bluntly. "We've never really gotten along well, Darwin, but you're one of the only people on this Council I can actually count on when something comes up that's beyond our petty squabbling. Normally. But a few minutes ago, you were as flustered and foolish as the rest of the idiots. I want to know why." Vinkus' face was surprised at first, then angry.

"You have no right to-"

"Wrong." Martel cut off. "If we're to do anything about this, we need every member on this Council with a brain to use it, and that includes you. We've got few enough as it is, and you know it. Me, you… Vidarson, Mikhail and Romeza… Arcian and Coombe, when they stop squabbling, I suppose… and that's it. Every other representative here has their brains given to them by their speechwriters. Let's be honest, Darwin. In another generation or two, the U.N. is done for. Screaming at each other all day solves NOTHING, and the few of us with our heads on straight DON'T need you defecting to the idiot side." Vinkus deflated.

"Edmund, I…" He shrugged helplessly. "You're right, of course. I just… I'm unsettled by this. Even… scared. My worst fears have come to light here."

"Ah…" Martel nodded, suddenly realizing. "I had forgotten… you were there when Dr. Light was abducted, correct?"

"Yes." Vinkus looked away. "And believe me when I say there is no possibility of this being a trick or a ruse. Blues Light… no, Proto Man is an enemy of humanity now. I saw him hurt, and then kidnap his father with my own eyes. A robot… the most advanced robot in existence save his own brother… is declaring war on humanity."

"His brother…?" Martel seized on that. "Before now, you've never referred to the robotic Lights as a family… you've always called Blues, Roll and Rock Dr. Light's creations… never his children."

"Yes, well…" Vinkus remembered the last flying moth robot, and shook his head. "I suppose those three are obscuring the line between human and robot even for me… and when you think about it, that's scary by itself. But Proto Man… what can we do to stop him?"

"The same thing as always." The white-haired American decided. "It may be cold, but Mega Man's the only one who can take care of this. And this time, it can't be independent… we have to convince the other members of the U.N. to join with us in asking… no, even ordering him… to take on his brother. We have to make it clear that now, more than any other time, humanity itself is behind Mega Man, or political stability will collapse even more than it already has."

"A lot of the others will disagree." Vinkus narrowed his eyes, thinking quickly. "They'll want to send in armies this time… armies of humans, to combat the robot menace. Suicide, of course, since humans simply can't match up to warbots in equal combat, but they won't know that. We'll have to persuade them that Mega Man is a better option."

"This recess is almost over." Martel glanced at a wall clock. "We'll let them yell for another hour or two, then I'll call another recess and we can each talk to our friends on here. Oh, don't look insulted. I KNOW you regularly talk with other anti-robotics people on this council off the record. Tell them what we have to do, and persuade them to help us convince the others. I'll do the same with the ones whose views are similar to mine."

"All right, fine." Vinkus grumbled. "Anything to get this done… but I don't like this. Just so you know." Martel smiled inwardly; the Japanese Councilor was acting like his old self again. And then the recess ended, and the other representatives began pouring back in.

"Ah, Mega Man." Ring Man greeted the younger son of Light as he rose from his stasis capsule. "Are you recovered fully, then?" Ring Man was another of Cossack's Robot Masters, his armor bright red with yellow trim. Though his form was humanoid like all Robot Masters, the only part of him that was not obviously robotic could be seen through a slit in his armor for his eyes. Like another of Cossack's creations, Dive Man, his head sported a ludicrous ornament; in this case, a tiny ring on a stick that resembled a child's bubble toy.

"Call me Rock when I'm not wearing my armor, please… and yeah." He walked out into the hall with the Russian Robot Master following him. "How's Roll doing? And Eddie, for that matter?"

"Both were fully repaired by my creator, and rose from stasis before you." Ring Man informed him. Rock blinked, surprised.

"How long was I out?" Ring Man thought for a moment.

"Approximately… twelve hours."

"That long…" Rock shook his head in slight amazement. He had not had good dreams during that stasis period. "Wow. I hope the Doc himself took a nap after that?"

"Of course." Ring Man confirmed. "He is awake now as well. All three of them are now in the lab, along with mistress Kalinka and Pharaoh Man… and Rush, who was delivered to us while you were all asleep."

"Oh, hell… Rush!" Rock broke into a run towards the lab. With everything that had gone on with Blues and his father, he had forgotten the loyal robotic dog's injuries. Ring Man at his heels, he burst into the lab.

"Oh, there you are, bro." Roll greeted him without turning. She, Cossack and Eddie were gathered around the operating table (the latter was standing on it), while Kalinka and Pharaoh Man stood some distance away. "You sure slept in. And yes, we've all seen that friendly little message our brother sent the world; the Doc here taped it for us."

"Your brother didn't send that message." Kalinka glared at the robot girl. "That wasn't Blues. He'd never do something like that."

"Look, I don't want to believe it either, but like I've already told you, we saw him with our own eyes." Roll growled. "Rock still has his scarf. It's him."

"Enough, both of you." Dr. Cossack sighed wearily, not turning away from the table. "This isn't any easier with the two of you bickering."

"How's it going, doc?" Rock asked quietly, walking over.

"Some good, some bad." Dr. Cossack shook his head resignedly. "The good news is, there's no serious damage to any critical components; it's mostly external. Mostly. The bad news is, there IS serious damage to the module that operates the Rush Coil in his back. And while I can repair all the external damage, the Rush Coil may be beyond my skill. I might be able to modify it into a working form, but it's doubtful that I can restore it to perfect operation."

"Just as long as he's repaired." Rock nodded, silently patting the stasis-mode dog on the head once. "I was worried about him. Who brought him?"

"It was a UN shuttle." Roll explained, leaning against a wall. "It brought everything else they could salvage from our house too, although we haven't unpacked most of that yet. Just Rush and… that." She gestured over to another table, where a familiar suit of blue armor was lying. A light-blue, flexible jumpsuit with thicker, indigo plating on the hands, feet, waist and helmet. Nodding at it, Rock activated the command that caused the armor to instantly teleport onto his body, replacing the human clothing he was wearing.

"All right then, I've slept enough. Now it's time for me to get to work."

"You don't think Blues is really doing this too, are you?" Kalinka accused him. Mega Man turned to look at her, eyes inscrutable.

"I don't know. While I find it hard to believe my brother would do anything like this, we DID see him. I can't decide right now… and really, I don't need to. I'm not going for him directly. Not yet. Right now, there are eight Robot Master servants out there causing havoc… and that's something I DO know how to deal with. And I'm going to deal with it the same way as always. Take them down."

"Sounds like a plan." Dr. Cossack looked up. "So, which one are you going for first?" As Mega Man started to answer, he was cut off by the ringing of a vidphone call, which Pharaoh Man quickly answered.

"Greetings. This is Dr. Sergei Cossack's citadel. I… oh. Yes… yes, I see."

"I thought your number was unlisted." Roll raised an eyebrow. Kalinka frowned.

"It is. Who could it be?"

"Mega Man… it is the United Nations council." Pharaoh Man turned to look at them all. "They wish to speak with you."

"Put them on the big screen on that wall." Mega Man decided. Pharaoh Man glanced at his creator for confirmation. Cossack nodded, and the large screen flickered to life, revealing the U.N. council hall. Mega, Roll and Cossack all recognized Vinkus behind one desk, but it was not he who spoke. Instead, it was an older man with a mane of long, white hair that reached to his shoulders, standing at the forefront.

"Mega Man, I am Edmund Martel, UN representative for the United States of America, and at the moment, presiding member of this council." Mega inclined his head courteously, though his face remained cold.

"Councilors… what can I do for you?"

"We… find ourselves in a dire situation at the moment." Martel explained. ""You are, undoubtedly, aware of Proto Man's declaration of war on mankind. Because of that, for the duration of this Rebellion, we must ask that you operate under our authority."

"Bullshit." Roll snapped. "Rock's never been working for the government. Ever since the first Rebellion, he's been going out again and again because he knew he was the only one who COULD… because he CHOSE to. He was never ordered to, was never given directions by a higher authority. And you want to start now? Forget it-"

"Roll, please." Mega Man cut her off. "These gentlemen would not have contacted us like this and made this request unless it was absolutely necessary…" He smiled grimly. "Especially since, according to the stories our friend Darwin has told us, it would be a remarkable feat to get five of the representatives to agree on something at once, let alone a majority." Martel's cheeks twitched, but he managed to keep his face serious. "Very well. I will place myself under the authority of the United Nations for the duration of this Rebellion… under the understanding that I will continue to remain staying at Dr. Sergei Cossack's, and rely on him for repairs and upgrades."

"Reasonable enough, considering his relation to your family." Martel turned to glance at the representatives behind him. "Are there any objections?" The tone of his voice made it clear that he expected several and also expected them to NOT be brought up at this moment. "Good. Now, then…" He turned back to the screen. "I assume you are already aware of the eight Robot Masters, but just in case, allow me to state the details again. The Turntable model prototype… Gravity Man, I mean… has seized a research and development military base in the western United States. Charge Man, AKA the Railroader model prototype, is wreaking havoc throughout the entire European train system. The Rockyfella prototype, now Stone Man, is mining in the Nevada mountains… we're not quite sure what he's doing there. Wave Man, formerly the prototype Tsunami model, has captured one of the locations he was designed to protect originally… the massive freshwater reservoir mainly beneath the Himalayan mountains. I'm sure you're familiar with the location."

"You could say that." Mega Man allowed himself a small, bitter smile. The Himalayas were where Dr. Wily's first Skull Fortress had been located.

"Then there's Crystal Man… obviously, the Crystallus model prototype." Martel continued on. "He's taken one of the Energen Crystal Mines discovered by Sennet Robotics… again, one I'm sure you remember. It's the one in New Guinea… the blue variant mine. The former Greenhawk prototype, now Gyro Man, has taken control of the high altitude weather observation platforms in Nigeria. The most dangerous prototype, the Warmonger, is now known as Napalm Man and occupying the treeborg forests of India. Not hard to guess what HE'll be doing there. And finally, the Starshine model, now Star Man, has taken control of… Project SKYLIGHT." Cossack whistled, and his eyes widened. Mega Man frowned darkly.

"The name doesn't ring any bells, but it sounds like bad news."

"It is." Vinkus spoke up. "I know…I helped create it. It was one of the few truly major projects that all of us worked on as one unit… those of us who had no knowledge of the main principles could still do calculations and computations beyond the computers of the time. It was ordered to be built to protect our nearly-destroyed planet from an approaching storm of asteroids and other spaceborn debris from the direction of Jupiter… a storm that is still present today. What we created… was an orbiting space defense platform. Lasers, missiles, and every other form of defense we could come up with in one grid that would protect us. A defensive grid that has now been deactivated by the platform's new master."

"Wait… wait." Roll held up a hand. "Did you say the storm's still going on?"

"Exactly." Martel resumed talking. "So far, fortunately, all that has passed Project SKYLIGHT has been small matter, burning up in the atmosphere. But it's only a matter of time before something too big comes along. Mega Man, your first priority must be the recovery of Project SKYLIGHT. Go there, destroy Star Man and reactivate the defenses." Several complicated series' of letters and numbers appeared on the screen. "These are the passwords that will get you into the platform's controls once you have dealt with Star Man. In addition to reactivating the grid, you will also be able to trigger the defenses to destroy any remaining robots. It is unfortunate that, apparently, the staff onboard at the time was unable to activate the defenses… they are undoubtedly all dead. Fortunately, once you reactivate the grid, it will be able to handle its own functions enough to defend the Earth until a new staff can be sent up."

"Well, I usually prefer to have a choice in the matter as to who I go after first, but you're right… this time, Star Man has to be taken out right away." Mega Man saluted. "I'll bring him down." Martel returned the salute gravely.  
"We're counting on you."

"Feeding time, monkeys." Dark Man announced as he walked into Blues' main command center. Still in their separate cells at the back were the two Doctors. Dr. Wily was curled up on himself in a lump of despair, speaking little. Dr. Light, on the other hand, glared at the Advanced Robot Master defiantly.

"Where is my son?"

"Master Proto Man is busy, I'm afraid." Dark Man shrugged, not even bothering to look at the old doctor as he worked on something with his back to the cells. "You know how it goes… always a million details to keep up with when it comes to these Rebellions. Right, then…" He turned around, holding a tray with two dishes on it. "For Dr. Light, a microwave dinner… nothing special, I'm afraid, but it's the best we can do. We don't exactly have a Chef Man working for us. And for Dr. Wily, gourmet dog food from the can. Enjoy!" He set the dishes down in front of them both.

"Dog food?" Dr. Light inquired mildly. Dark Man attempted to nod. He failed miserably, not having anything even resembling a neck or chin, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Yup. Master Proto Man's orders; he's to be kept in a state as close to that girl Kalinka's during the Fourth as possible. Of course, we don't want him to actually die… not yet. Which is why we're feeding him at all. But I think the point is still clear." The red-and-black robot turned to glare at Wily. "Besides, for some strange reason, I strongly dislike him anyways. Not quite sure why; I just do. You should enjoy what you're getting, Doctor Light… if you raise too much of a ruckus, you'll only succeed in making Master Proto Man even more irritated with you, and that could very well erase whatever feelings he has left for you. And I don't really care about you either way, so that wouldn't be a good idea at all." He glanced at the door to the command center. "Ah, here he comes now. Some free advice from a guy who's completely neutral in his feelings for you. Just stay quiet and don't bother him. That's what Wily's been doing ever since the first time we played pinata with him, and we haven't done it again since." The door opened, and Proto Man walked in, smiling arrogantly.

"Morning, Dark. Dad. Uncle Al." Walking past them, the commander of the robot army whistled his favorite tune as he sat in one of the two command chairs. In a half circle around the chairs was a massive collection of computers reporting vital statistics, security camera footage and constantly open communication channels from each of the eight Robot Masters' locations. In the center, directly in front, was one huge monitor displaying a world map. Glowing dots on there marked the eight locations, as well as other vital points on the globe such as the most powerful nations' capitals and the homes of both the Cossacks and the Lights. "Hey, why do we even have this one up here anymore, Dark?" Proto Man pointed at the dot representing his former home. "There's nothing of importance there anymore… just rubble and slag."

"Let's take it down then, boss." Crossing to the second command chair, Dark Man tapped a few keys, and the dot over the Light residence faded away. "There we go. No muss, no fuss." Proto Man nodded approvingly.

"Good. Now that that's been taken care of, have there been any issues?"

"Well, Star Man called a little while back." Dark Man reported. "Wanted to talk to you."

"Might as well find out what about…" Proto Man turned to face the comm to Star Man's base. "Hey Star, you there?" There was a moment's pause before Star Man's face appeared on the screen, underneath the five-pointed orange star headpiece he wore.

"Master Proto Man? Is that you?"

"It's not Dr. Wily, you blockhead." Proto Man snorted. "Dark Man said you wanted to talk to me. What's the deal?"

"Well, master… what exactly should I be doing now?" Star Man asked hesitantly. "I mean… I've shut off the defense grid, and there's nothing stopping the space debris from hitting Earth… but that's all you've told me to do. Now what? Should I return to you for another mission?"

"Oh, hell no." Proto Man growled. "Think, Star Man. If you and your army leave, they'll be able to turn that thing back on easily. No, you just stay right there and hold that location until further notice… or until my little brother comes to pay you a visit, that is."

"Mega Man?" Star Man took a step back. "Will… will he be coming here, then?"

"Of course he will, idiot." Dark Man growled. "What, you think the master sent that message just for the fun of it? The master's brother has stopped four Rebellions before, of course he will try to stop this one too."

"What he said." Proto Man jerked a thumb at his second-in-command. "And I'm guessing your location is pretty high on his priorities list, Star. Drastic threat to the entire planet and all that. So if I were you, I'd be expecting a visit from him quite soon. You'll be ready for him when he comes, won't you?" Star Man slowly nodded, obviously shaken.

"O… of course, sir. But… he has killed so many of us Robot Masters before… will I be any match for him?"

"Of course you will." Blues grinned. "You forget… they were but ordinary, foolish Robot Masters serving either a human or a madman. YOU are part of the robot army that will exterminate the human race, and thus, your will is far stronger than any before you. I DID make you a general, Star Man. Prove to me that I was right in doing so." Star Man nodded again and saluted, then walked off. "Well, that went well. Anything else to deal with, Dark?"

"Well…" Dark Man glanced at the monitors around them. "Napalm Man hasn't started on his assignment yet… he's taken the location, sure, but he hasn't actually done anything there yet."

"Ah, he's probably just having some mechanical troubles." Proto Man stood. "Nothing to worry about. I'm out of here, then. Call me when Rock actually goes somewhere." He began walking towards the door.

"Blues." Dr. Light said calmly. "You'll never succeed with this insanity. You know that." Proto Man slowed for a moment, then shrugged and kept walking.

"Figured you'd say something like that, dad. It doesn't really mean anything to me. Because you're completely wrong. On the contrary, I know I WILL succeed. Sorry I can't stop to talk more right now; places to go, people to kill and all that. Maybe later. See you around!" As the doors clicked shut behind him, Dr. Wily turned to the other old doctor, eyes dull.

"Don't try it, Tom. He's changed completely. There isn't an ounce of the robot we created left in him."

"Says you." Dr. Light retorted coldly. "I don't believe I need YOUR advice." Wily shrugged lethargically.

"It's your skin if he gets angry." He fell silent again, as did Dr. Light, and the only sound was Dark Man's left hand typing on the keyboard as he monitored the Robot Masters.

In the void of space, currently between the planet Earth and its moon, the space station SKYLIGHT spun peacefully, its surface quiet. From far away, there were no signs of the carnage that had taken place; only by moving closer could one see the wide streaks of blood and dead bodies lying around. The robots, it seems, hadn't bothered to clean up after they were done. There was no movement; the space station was still and quiet. And yet, sensor devices at various points across the surface of the station picked up the streak of blue light traveling towards them from Earth at high speed, and sent the message back to the station's control center. The message that Star Man had been dreading. "He's here." And then the light hit the surface of Project SKYLIGHT, immediately solidifying into the blue-armored form of Mega Man.

"Whew… going long distances always packs a kick." Mega glanced up at the glowing sphere of his home planet above him in the starry night sky. "And I guess they don't get much longer than this." Matter teleportation was a fairly new technology, developed around the same time as the Robot Masters, and was still only safely usable by robots; any human would undergo severe brain damage from the molecular shifting involved, if they weren't killed. But metal and electronics… those could handle the trip. Glancing up again, Mega Man saw a packet of asteroids approaching. The rocks were small, only about his own size, and moving relatively slowly… but getting hit by one would still be a bad idea. With a startled yelp, the blue hero took cover under a nearby radar dish and waited until the rocks stopped crashing into it and the deck around him before making a dash for the nearest porthole. He dropped into it with no problems, noting that his fall was quite a bit slower than normal. Project SKYLIGHT's artificial gravity was noticeably lower than Earth's. As he hit the floor inside the station, Mega fired behind him to take out the waiting security robot, then moved on past it. The hall was lined with hidden cannons that popped up to fire as he approached, but a charged shot wiped both their own fire and the cannons themselves out instantly. More notable-and far more dangerous-was the defense measure Mega saw lining parts of the ceiling.

"Spikes. Figures. Almost definitely electrified, too." One of the favorite non-robotic defenses of the men behind Rebellions, whether it was Wily, Cossack, Doc Man or now Proto Man, were barbed spikes in inconvenient locations with electric currents running through them. If one of the pointed traps pierced Mega Man's armor, the current would immediately flow directly into his circuits, killing him instantly. Remembering the low gravity, Mega made a point of not making even the slightest hop as he continued down the hall. At the end, something caught his eye; a handy map of the complex. Scanning it, he quickly found the control center. "Good… I'm already on the fastest path there… eh?" The map had been tampered with; an additional marking labeled "circuit plate" had been added on his path, on the next level down. "Huh… we'll see about that." Continuing on, he soon found the spot indicated. More spikes lined the ceiling, but aside from a few hovering robots, there was nothing else visible… at first.

"Where is it… aw, no." The circuit plate was there, all right; taped to one of the spikes above. "No way I'm going to just try and grab that… but I need that thing. How… wait…" One of the destroyed robots had been using a propeller to stay aloft. Grabbing it and wrenching it off the slagged 'bot, Mega stretched up and used it to pry at the tape. After a few minutes of futile effort, the coin-sized plate came loose and drifted slowly down into Mega Man's outstretched palm. "That's one of them, then… now, back to the main issue. Star Man." The path he remembered led him back up to the surface of the station after that, but now all the robots were aware of his presence and moved across SKYLIGHT in search of him. In addition to dodging more asteroids and missiles that exploded into shrapnel even if they missed him, Metools in bubble helmets and jetpacks blasted around. They would have been hilarious if they weren't trying to kill him; as they were, Mega Man was definitely not amused.

"This Star Man probably thinks he's quite the comedian…" Mega growled as he blew yet another one out of the sky. "First the flying Mets in the Third, then the swimming one in the Fourth, and now this. I AIN'T LAUGHING." And then something else rounded a corner, and Mega decided that the Space Mets were the least of his worries. A huge, heavily armored mechanoid was patrolling around on two long, spindly legs with flat feet that made up most of its mass. The remainder was an orange head with a single, sky blue eye that had just spotted him. And through that eye, Mega saw what was controlling the metal monster; a Robot Master with a huge star plate over his body and a smaller one on his head. "Star Man? No, he'll be in the control center… this must just be a subordinate Starshine Model, then…" Confirming his guess, the Robot Master didn't say anything, simply boring down on him with a glare of programmed determination. Even though it was much larger than him, the robot walker had not been built for speed, and Mega was able to keep away from it easily while he charged a shot. The target was obvious. Jumping into the air, the blue hero fired the blast straight into the eye of the mechanoid. The Starshine's face remained the same, but the walker backed off, stepping away.

"Going to try a new tactic, eh?" Mega Man guessed. Again, he was correct; a laser turret emerged from the hull right below the eye and began firing. Again, Mega jumped and fired a charged shot, and again it struck home, cracking the eye this time. However, as he landed one of the lasers hit him. "Dammit… you are SO dead!" The third charged shot blew the eye out completely and continued through to hit the Starshine, preventing it from jumping out as it also burned through the controls. With a groan of scraping metal, the walker collapsed. A single orange arm wiggled out of the shattered socket before the cockpit hit the ground, crushing the pilot. Without a backwards glance, Mega Man pressed on.

Beyond the walker, it seemed a large group of Space Metools had been bottlenecking, and Mega took another hit clearing them out. Growling, he checked a meter on his right arm. "Hm… down to 79. Not bad, but worse than I would like before fighting Star Man… maybe I'll find an energy capsule." The meter was measuring Mega's internal operations energy, which decreased every time he took a hit. If it hit zero, there would be nothing left to keep him activated. Fortunately, he was able to avoid any more hits in the next section, with rising and falling hover platforms patrolled by robots the only way across a seemingly endless stretch of floorspikes. Beyond them was the door that led to the control center of Project SKYLIGHT… and it had another mechanoid walker waiting right in front of it. "Ugh… figures. I feel like I'm in freakin' Star Wars now." The second walker was dispatched even easier than the first had been, and Mega walked past it, through the steel shutter that always had marked the entrance to a Robot Master's lair… and likely always would, no matter who was pulling the strings. Back inside now, he walked down a short hall and through a second shutter, into the command center.

"My sensors were right… it is you." The command center's only occupant swiveled around in his chair to greet his enemy, hands together. The rest of the seats were empty, though bloodstains here and there indicated that they had not been evicted voluntarily. "Mega Man, the butcher of the Robot Masters. How many of us have you sent to the grave now?"

"Not counting duplicates, thirty… no, thirty-one." Mega shrugged. "Although eight of those are alive again now, and my friends for that matter, so I'm not sure if they count. Not that it matters at all. I think it's a fairly simple concept myself; a Robot Master kills people, and I kill it."

"By people, of course, you mean humans." Star Man's eyes narrowed.

"Not necessarily." Mega disagreed. "A lot of the guys I've taken down before killed other robots, too. And I don't really think you folks would be any different if you ran across a fellow Robot Master who was against you… like me."

"We must defend ourselves." Star Man replied quickly. "If a brother robot refuses to stand down, then we have no choice in the matter."

"Of course." Mega glanced around. "Huh… I would have thought you'd be keeping the dead humans in their chairs as your 'crew' for some kind of ghoulish joke. Guess I was wrong, though."

"Please." Star Man shuddered theatrically. "Even a joke involving having humans working under me… no way."

"So, hypothetically speaking, if you won the war, you wouldn't accept humanity's surrender?" Mega Man's eyes narrowed. Star Man smiled coldly.

"No. We will not be satisfied until they are completely extinct."

"Then I have no qualms at all… about killing you instead." Mega released the charged shot he had been storing out of the blue, and Star Man's eyes widened momentarily before it slammed into the star-shaped plate over his torso. Grunting, the orange Robot Master took a step back, but did not seem very damaged.

"That was a cheap shot… and it won't do you any good!" Straightening up, he smiled triumphantly. "Barely even penetrated!"

"Try another one, then!" Mega Man fired once more, but this time the attack didn't even hit; as it neared Star Man, it was suddenly dissipated by a sphere of orange energy that appeared around the Robot Master.

"Ha… and that one didn't even touch me! Your puny weapons can't get through my Star Crash!" Now that he was seeing it in a combat situation, Mega realized that the force field was twice as large as Skull Man's had been… a factor Star Man would doubtless use to his advantage. Biting his lip, Mega reassessed the situation.

"This might be a problem… no, wait. I forgot… Skull Man couldn't move while using his… WHOA!" He jumped into the air as Star Man suddenly ran forward, bringing the force field with him. "Okay, so much for THAT theory… but still, he'll have to let it down eventually, if for no other reason than to actually shoot at me…" Landing on the ground again, the blue bomber turned around… and his eyes widened as he saw the Star Crash coming towards him of its own accord. Taken completely by surprise, he was bowled over by the flying force field. As it passed, Mega looked forward again to see Star Man jumping at him, another Star Crash surrounding the orange Robot Master. Yelling, he dived under his enemy, then whirled around to face him again. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Star Man jumped once more, this time straight up vertically. At the apex of his leap, he hovered in place, and the Star Crash detached from him, boring down on Mega Man. This time, Mega saw it coming and made a jump of his own, clearing it and firing a charged shot into Star Man's chest a second time. The orange Robot Master merely coughed and formed another barrier.

"Like I told you… your plasma doesn't have enough power to get through this armored plate." Dropping to the ground once more, he ran at Mega Man, who moved to avoid the wide force field. Without warning, he launched it again, not bothering to jump this time.

"Heh.. Figured you'd do that." Turning to face his foe, Mega flung himself into the air, hurdling the Star Crash and flying over Star Man as well. As he did, he fired straight down at the Robot Master's head. Landing behind him, he turned to see the second, smaller plate on Star Man's head smoking… but no damage to the rest of him. "Damn… that thing's just as thick?"

"You got it!" Star Man laughed, jumping around again. "No matter where you shoot, even if you get past my Star Crash, you'll never cause any real damage!"

"Oh, I don't know about THAT…" Mega growled, waiting for the next attack. It was not long in coming; Star Man fired from midair again, hurling his barrier downward at his foe. As soon as he saw it coming, Mega Man crouched and then slid forward, flying along the ground at high speed. Before Star Man could react, he was behind the orange Robot Master, whose back was wide open. THIS time, the charged shot sank in with a hiss and a scream from its target. As Star Man tumbled to the ground, Mega Man followed up with as many plasma bullets as he could pump out, and Star Man took more and more damage before he angrily brought the Star Crash back up.

"That's IT! Now you're DEAD!" Getting back to his feet, he immediately hurled the Star Crash again, and Mega jumped it, flying through the air over him. "Oh no, you don't!" Smirking, Star Man whirled around to face Mega as he landed… and saw nothing. Mega had taken advantage of the low gravity, and moved backward in midair. Landing behind Star Man's exposed back again. Like before, he followed the initial charged shot with a stream of regular fire, and this time Star Man stayed down.

"Wrong… you are." Mega Man sighed. Star Man didn't respond. Carefully walking over, Mega Man checked the Robot Master's body and discovered that he was indeed inoperative. He quickly located the Weapons Chip inside the dead robot and concentrated, activating his Weapons Copy ability again. Possibly Dr. Light's single greatest achievement in building him aside from his mind, the Weapons Copy program allowed his matter synthesizers to mimic the primary weapons systems of other defeated Robot Masters. In this case, the Star Crash was now available for Mega's use. Once it had been absorbed, he walked past Star Man's body to the controls of Project SKYLIGHT. Inputting the passwords given to him by the U.N., he was quickly able to restore all functions, as well as programming the onboard defenses to target any foreign mechanical presences. "That should take care of the remaining robots, and keep any more from setting up shop. Right then… time to go back to Earth." He glanced out a window at the starry void and smiled a bit fondly. "Nice to see you, again, space… but my own planet needs me right now." And then he was gone, a blip of blue light streaking through the cosmos once more.


	6. Chapter 5: Weighty Situation

_**Chapter 5: Weighty Situation **_

"_Of course we realize the Dinosaur Tank is a danger. New technology always is. But risks must be taken in the name of progress. As long as intelligent humans are behind the controls, I am sure we will have no problems controlling this new weapon." -Global Defense Council Representative, explaining the Cornus Island Defense Mobile Dinosaur Tank_

The first thing Mega Man saw as he awoke from stasis was a flash of red steel. The first thing he heard was a familiar, enthusiastic bark. And the first thing he felt was a canine tongue licking his face frantically.

"Rush!" Mega gasped as soon as he could. "Sit!" The robotic dog obediently complied. "Phew. Yeah, I'm glad to see you're okay too, boy."

"You are awake, I see." Dr. Cossack greeted him, following Rush into the room where the stasis capsules were located. "I repaired all your injuries from your battle with Star Man while you were asleep, although there did not seem to be anything life-threatening."

"Nope." Mega scratched Rush behind the ears. "There were some interesting developments on the force field technology you might want to ask Doc Corbun about for adapting into Skull Man, but he wasn't really that good. It's probably not worth hoping that the rest will be the same, though."

"Probably not." Roll agreed, sitting up from the capsule next to him. "And we can't count on Blues putting pinheads on all of the most important locales… most likely, the UN will send you up against one of the big boys soon." Mega shook his head.

"Just as long as it's not the Warmonger… he'd be Napalm Man now, I think. I do NOT want to fight that guy unless I'm sure I've got something that'll work well on him."

"Unfortunately, you might have to." Dr. Cossack predicted darkly. "He has set up shop in the treeborg forests of India, and if he burns that down, it will be a complete disaster for the oxygen producing capabilities of that region. The UN will know this."

"Great." Mega rolled his eyes. "Maybe they'll figure a couple of the others pose a greater threat."

"Luck hasn't exactly been on our side as of lately, bro." Roll reminded him.

"Yeah, I know." Mega Man nodded gloomily. "So, is Rush ready to go again?"

"Well…" Cossack shrugged. "I did my best. The Rush Coil works, but… it's different than usual. Demonstrate, Rush." The robotic dog obediently crouched. However, instead of the normal springboard activating on his back, the entire dog was propelled straight up as the coil instead popped out of his underside, launching him. Mega blinked in surprise.

"Huh. Well, that should work. There is something else, though. Is there any way you could give my Buster a little more oomph? That was the only problem I had with Star Man…"

"As a matter of fact, me and Thomas had indeed worked out some improvements for your Mega Buster." The Russian Doctor admitted. "It's not much, but it will increase your charged shot's power slightly. Do you want me to implement them now?"

"Probably best not to… the UN will be calling soon." Mega guessed. "Wait until I get back from my next trip, and put it in while I'm in stasis." As if to confirm his guess, further discussion was cut off by a cheerful voice that came from a wall speaker.

"Call for Mega Man."

"What did I tell you?" Mega hopped out of his capsule. Roll did the same. "Let's go say hi to them." However, it was not the councilors who they found conversing with the round orange Bright Man when they entered Cossack's lab, but instead a more friendly, familiar face.

"Dr. Corbun!" Roll smiled for the first time since her father's kidnapping. "I was wondering when you were going to call!"

"Roll, Rock, Sergei. Good to see you." Dr. Corbun smiled wearily. "I'm sorry, Roll… I would have called sooner, but there were many things I had to hash out with my superiors at U.S. Robotics, and I had to devote all of my attention to pounding my points through approximately five thousand feet of red tape." His smile vanished. "I am sorry for what has happened to your family… to Thomas. None of us had believed Blues, of all people, was capable of such a thing."

"None of us thought so either." Mega responded tonelessly. "Fortunately, it seems Blues wants to keep him alive and unhurt… for now. I was afraid he might use dad as a threat to make me stand down… still am, really."

"It's a possibility we must all consider." Dr. Corbun admitted. "But in the meantime, you will continue to destroy the Robot Masters, correct?" Mega nodded.

"Exactly. I've already taken out Star Man, and now I'm waiting for the UN to decide which one I should hit next."

"Aha…" Corbun's smile returned, and his eyes grew sly. "Darwin told me about that. With that in mind, I believe I have a few interesting things to tell you about your enemies."

"Oh?" Roll raised an eyebrow. "Good news?"

"Some of it." Dr. Corbun grinned. "First, you can comfortably relax about the Warmonger… Napalm Man… and wait as long as you want before taking him out. He's no threat to the world at all." All of them blinked a few times at that. "Oh, I know, the treeborg forest. But here's the thing, fellas. The Warmonger was designed exclusively for war. For fighting. The top brass instructed me to develop him for that in every way, sacrificing other aspects that are normally integral to Robot Masters." Slowly, Mega Man grinned as well.

"Are you saying…"  
"That's right!" Dr. Corbun cackled. "One of the things we sacrificed was intellectual power and programming. In other words, he's as stupid as a stump! All that we put into his brain had to do with fighting… he knows absolutely nothing else! I'll bet at this moment, he's probably still trying to figure out how to give his robot minions orders, or maybe whether trees really DO burn."

"Wouldn't he just blast one to find out?" Roll wondered.

"The idea would never even occur to him of firing on something that's not fighting him." Dr. Corbun shook his head. "It's simply not in his programming. I think our enemy commanders are going to be in for some very nasty surprises fairly soon. It'll take him months to get anything done. He's the complete opposite of you two… and of that bright fellow you built, Sergei. He's quite good… he could probably pass the Turing test, although that hasn't been used in decades."

"Thank you." The Russian doctor inclined his head.

"Well, that's one headache gone." Mega smiled. "I was starting to worry about that. I assume that red tape you referenced was getting your bosses to agree to you telling us classified information on that?" Corbun coughed, looking uncomfortable.

"Well… actually, they only approved of me telling the U.N., which I did already. But they'll probably never find out about this call, and even if they do, I'm going to retire soon anyways." His face grew grim once more. "I also told the U.N. something about a different one… something that's NOT good news."

"One of them's more a threat than we think?" Roll guessed.

"Exactly. That lab in the U.S… Gravity Man. The Turntable model was actually designed using technology developed in that lab… developed for military purposes. Like the Greenhawk and Warmonger models, the Turntable would use its powers for combat. It doesn't, in fact, reverse gravity… it actually applies a force stronger than gravity's own force to shove the target upwards. If Blues gets the data from that lab, he might be able to build a weapon using that technology on a much larger scale. And I suspect that many other experimental weapons were being tested there as well that we weren't told about. All of this, of course, was not released to the general public."

"Of course." Mega nodded grimly. "So you think I should go after Gravity Man second?"

"I recommend it in the highest possible terms." The British Doctor confirmed. "I just hope the U.N. agrees with me. And with that in mind, before they call, I have something else. Do you remember how I first met you?"

"That would be…" Mega thought back. "At the beginning of the Third… you called to send the data on the Slide Technique from Shadow Man." Slowly, he smiled. "Do you, by any chance, have something along those lines?"

"Indeed I do, my friend." Corbun grinned. "I'll teleport it in right away." A streak of light came through the ceiling and materialized as a green metal canister. Inside, protected by padded wrapping, was a microchip. "It's mostly a utility, but it can also be used as a weapon… fire it at a wall, and it will attach, creating a platform for you to stand on."

"Almost like my old Item-3." Mega realized as he absorbed the chip's contents with Weapons Copy. "Super Arrow, eh? Nice. Thanks, Doc… that's another one I owe you."

"Another call coming in." Bright Man interrupted.

"That's probably the UN." Mega Man guessed. "Sorry, but we'll have to let you go now, doc. Thanks again for the info and the Arrow."

"Any time. I'll call again if I come up with anything else that could help." Dr. Corbun waved goodbye, and the screen went blank momentarily before lighting up again, showing the council chamber.

"Greetings, Mega Man… all of you." Councilor Martel smiled. "Are you ready for another mission?"

"Any time." Mega nodded. "Where am I going?"

"Well… due to some new information that has been revealed to us…" Martel glanced at Vinkus once before continuing. "We have decided that the highest threat at the moment is the research and development lab in the United States. The information there must not be allowed to be used by Blues. With luck, Gravity Man has not yet transmitted much of it too him. Destroy him before he can."

"Can do." Mega nodded laconically. "Don't worry, Councilors; I've got it covered. I'll be off, then."

The military laboratory looked, of course, rather unremarkable; a plain, squat gray building, perfectly square and ordinary. The fact that it was the only building within ten miles would raise some eyebrows, of course, as would the total lack of windows. Aside from the garage, the only way in or out was the front door, which Mega Man's teleport landed him right in front of.

"Hm… looks like this one's got a teleport shield up. Looks like I won't be able to just land where I want and make my way from there like I did on Project SKYLIGHT… as usual. Not that I'd want to without being able to see where I was teleporting. From the outside on in it is, then." Teleport shields were another defense measure customary to Rebellions; electromagnetic barriers erected around key points kept teleporting robots from passing through. Once on the inside, one could of course teleport anywhere inside the shield, but Mega usually chose not to, since he could easily pop back into existence directly above a pit of spikes or underneath a two-thousand-pound security 'bot. He did, however, carry a beacon for Rush and Eddie to use as a destination point. Walking through the invisible shield easily, he blasted the door down, then stepped aside in case of return fire. None came. Looking carefully, he saw that the lobby was empty. Still being careful, he slowly proceeded into the facility and down a promising-looking hall. As he passed a strange device that appeared to involve a gigantic magnet in a sealed tube, he saw the first sentry robot. Before it could even move, he blasted it. "Well, they know I'm here now." He proceeded down the hall, noting a strange sign on the wall with arrow-shaped light pointing both up and down. The ones pointing down were the only ones lit. "Huh. Wonder what that's about." Walking down a set of stairs to a lower level, he saw a small spike pit ahead. Running forward, he readied himself to hurdle it… but before he could, he was suddenly lifted into the air by a completely alien power.

"What the hell! Oof!" Yelling, he slammed into the ceiling and stayed there, glued to it as if by gravity. "Is he… no, no Robot Masters in sight. Then what…" He snapped his fingers as he stood up. "Doc Corbun said they were developing the reverse gravity system here. Gravity Man's hooked it up to parts of the entire building." Checking the walls, he confirmed a suspicion; he was now standing in front of lit "up" arrows, which extended over to the other side of the pit. Shrugging, he crossed. When he reached more lit "down" arrows, gravity returned and he landed back down. "This could get irritating… but I have to go through it, I suppose. On with the show." Wiping out some more robots, he soon switched gravitational alignment again. This time, he had to walk up the underside of a staircase to reach the first floor again, dodging several heavy automated chain maces the size of a deer and walking robots whose spike-topped heads would suddenly pop up to try and spear him. At the end of a hall was an empty elevator shaft, with an arrow sign pointing down inside. "This smells like a trap… but I don't really have an option. Wish I had one of those 'you are here' signs like I did on SKYLIGHT." Shrugging, he jumped inside and fell immediately. Several stories passed, and then he could see the bottom… lined with spikes.

"Aw, NO!" Twisting in the air, he managed to land on the edge of the floor outside the shaft. "WAY too close…" Fortunately, the next hall was simple enough; the pop-up floor cannons were easily spotted and taken out. And then he saw what was blocking the hallway further on, and groaned. It was another one of the gigantic purple humanoids of the same type that he had fought outside his home, when Proto Man's forces had attacked. Taking it out would doubtless take some time and a few hits. "Not what I want, thanks… let's try something out." Bringing up a submenu for his current weapons systems in the corner of his eye, Mega selected Dr. Corbun's Super Arrow. Aiming carefully at the behemoth's face, he fired once. What flew out from his Buster was an arrow that looked as if it had been launched from a bow, save for the front end; instead of an arrowhead, it had a lump of white goo. The reason for that was explained as it impacted the enemy robot's head. Instantly, the goo spread and solidified, covering the monster's face and anchoring the arrow as solidly as if it had been designed that way in the factory. Blinded, the giant robot bellowed and charged. As the massive 'bot lumbered forward, Mega crouched, then slid between its legs. Before it could turn, he was off, running down the hall too fast for it to follow.

"Well, that was handy." Mega smiled. "Got to remember to thank Doc Corbun again for that one." By the time he reached a point that he had to stop and examine, the giant robot was far behind him. The point being an area where the gravity shifted multiple times over a series of deadly pits, deep drops with spikes at the bottom set in both ceiling and floor. And to make matters worse, Mega Man saw the glint of another circuit plate, taped to the wall arrow sign high above on pit. He would have to grab it in midchange and still manage to land safely. Taking a deep breath, he made the first leap. Fortunately, for once luck was on his side, and he made it across with no trouble, even snagging the plate. As he was about to go on, he heard a metal thud behind him and turned. The giant humanoid robot had followed him all the way, and was now leaping into the gravity change zone. Unfortunately for it, its weight was too much for the system to handle, and the massive 'bot fell onto the spikes below. Shaking his head, Mega turned and went on. Several more gravity changes and security robots remained in his path, but the worst was behind him, and he conquered them without any problems. Finally, walking on the ceiling again, he saw the familiar metal shutters below. Dropping to the ground, he absently blew away the last security cannon that popped up behind him as he walked inside. He immediately switched back to the ceiling.

"Okay… why that was necessary, I'll never know." Shrugging, he walked in through the second shutter, charging a shot in preparation for the battle ahead.

"Dark Man, what the HELL is going on here?" Proto Man demanded as he stormed into the command center of his fortress. Dr. Light watched as his subordinate turned around in his chair, face expressionless as always.

"Well… Star Man lost, boss. He's dead. It happens."

"I'm not talking about THAT, you idiot." Proto snapped. "I knew about Star Man's death hours ago. Kind of obvious when something like Project SKYLIGHT drops out of our control. I'm talking about Napalm Man."

"Napalm Man?" Dark Man swiveled around to check the screens. "It doesn't look like he's done anything to me, boss."

"That's exactly my point, Dark." Proto Man growled, sitting down next to him. "He HASN'T done anything. Nada. Zero. Zip. Zilch. NOTHING since he took control of the India treeborg forest. He hasn't started on his mission yet."

"I… uh… kinda told you about that alrea-oh, never mind." Dark Man sighed. "Looks like his army's at rest, boss. You want I should ring him up?"

"Oh, yes." Proto Man growled. "I want to have a little talk with the pride of U.S. Robotics." A moment passed, and then Dr. Light could see Napalm Man's face appear on a monitor.

"Uh… is that you, master?" The warbot's voice was a deep bass. "I didn't know you would call me…"

"Obviously." Proto Man snarled. "And I shouldn't have HAD to. Unfortunately, I did. Mind explaining to me just WHY you haven't started on your job yet? The job I specifically assigned to you upon your taking the Treeborg forest?"

"Job…" Napalm Man's eyes dimmed. "Oh yeah… burn all the trees." Proto Man nodded testily.

"Bingo. So, inform me. Why haven't you started yet?" The warbot's eyes dimmed again, this time in confusion.

"Uh… I don't know how, boss."

"Don't know…" Proto Man looked on the verge of exploding. "You blast the trees, nitwit! Just blow them up!"

"Oh, okay!" Napalm Man's eyes brightened again. "I know how to blast things, all right! Say, when will Mega Man be here?"

"I don't know, Napalm Man." Proto Man told him levelly, with an astonishing amount of self control. "But I'll bet if you get started on that right away, it'll make him come sooner. Why don't you?"

"All right!" Napalm Man saluted. "I'll do that then, boss! I want to blast Mega Man most of all!" He turned and zoomed off on his wheeled feet… leaving the communication on. Sighing, Dark Man killed it.

"And to think we once thought he held such promise."

"That was before we actually got to know him." Proto Man shrugged. "When we just saw him on show at Sennet's, we thought he'd be the best one there… a perfect, bloodthirsty killing machine with the best weapons and armor of the batch and a psychopath's mind to go with them. Instead, we got the mind of a two-year-old." He shrugged. "Looks like our best hopes for little brother meeting more than his match are the mean greens."

"Crystal Man and Gyro Man, you mean?" Dark Man guessed. Proto Man nodded.

"Yeah. They're the most powerful aside from Napalm, and far more intelligent." He smiled slightly. "Which of them do you think is better?" Dark Man shrugged.

"Crystal Man."

"Thought you'd say that." Proto grinned, stretching. "Me, I prefer Gyro Man."

"That's just because he takes after you." Dark Man snorted.

"Oh, and Crystal Man doesn't take after you?" Proto Man retorted. "Anyways, where's Mega Man right now? Has he gone after another of our boys yet?" Dark Man checked the screens.

"Yup. Gravity Man." Proto Man slapped his face.

"Figures. Has Grav sent the information from that facility to here yet?"

"Nope." Dark shook his head. "Should I get him on the horn?" Proto Man thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.

"Naw… Grav's the kind of 'bot who'll call us if he needs to. When it's ready, he'll send it immediately, and not a moment before. Let's just hope he gets it off before Mega Man gets him, eh. Why don't you go do something elsewhere in the base, Dark? I'm bored of talking to you, and I can stay here in case Grav calls." Dark Man stood, bowed and left the room. Swiveling around in his chair, Proto Man regarded his imprisoned father.

"How you doing there, dad?"

"Tolerable." Dr. Light shrugged. "It's not pleasant by any means, but noticeably better than Albert's."

"Yeah, well, that was intentional." Proto shrugged. "It's nothing personal, dad… you're human, that's all. I can't make any exceptions, not even for you… if you think about it, I'm sure you'll see why. That doesn't mean I have to mistreat you like that scum, though… you're just about the best humanity offers, as opposed to him." Dr. Wily was silent, ignoring the insults. "Still… we had some good times, didn't we?" His voice changed, becoming almost wistful. "You created me… the teleporter accident… then the Third Rebellion." He frowned. "Break Man… that was me, wasn't it?"

"Yes…" Dr. Light agreed cautiously. "You were Break Man… we didn't know it was you, and you wore that mask to keep anybody from knowing your identity."

"Right, right…" Proto Man continued. "And… I fought Mega, didn't I? It's… it's kind of fuzzy…" Dr. Light debated answering, but decided for it.

"Yes. Albert here tricked you… lied to you so you'd work for him. You never won, of course, and eventually, you figured it out in time to help Rock with some of the later Robot Masters, as well as Wily and Doc Man."

"Doc Man…" Proto Man slowly nodded. "Yeah… yeah. I helped…" His expression twisted, turned bitter. "Boy, was I ever stupid. Helping out? With saving humans? Hah. I was fighting for the wrong side. Not that fighting for Wily was much better."

"So which side SHOULD you have been on, then?" Wily muttered derisively. "Doc Man's, maybe?"

"YOU shut up." Proto Man walked over and kicked the insane doctor through his cell bars, prompting a grunt of pain. "Man, now I'm in a bad mood. I'm going to go do something else. You stay put, monkeys… I'll find Dark Man and have him come back here to keep an eye on you." Standing, he walked away muttering to himself darkly, leaving Dr. Light alone with the again-silent Dr. Wily.

"Whoa!" Mega Man stumbled as he fell through the second metal shutter, dropping to the ceiling. As he did, another Robot Master fell in the opposite direction. Landing on the floor, he looked up at his enemy.

"Greetings, Mega Man." Gravity Man said tonelessly. "You are here to kill me, of course."

"Of course." Mega agreed. "Now that we've gotten that established, would you care for a little more meaningless banter or shall we get started?"

"Banter is unnecessary. Let's go." Gravity Man smiled wickedly, and suddenly he was rising to the ceiling at the same time as Mega Man was falling to the floor. He landed on his face with a painful grunt, then snarled as plasma bullets began hitting him. Rolling to the side, he scrambled to his feet and hurled a charged blast towards Gravity Man. For a moment, the enemy Robot Master was frozen in the path of the blast… and then he smiled, and once again the room shifted. He fell to the floor, dodging the shot, and Mega Man slammed into the ceiling. This time, he was able to avoid most of the follow-up plasma shots, but a couple still found him.

"Damn… that's not going to work forever!"

"Perhaps…" Gravity Man agreed coolly, running forward. "But it will work long enough to terminate you." Standing straight below Mega, he suddenly rose up. As Mega fell, they passed by each other, and Gravity Man kicked the surprised hero in the chest. Mega slammed into the wall bounced off and hit the floor hard. Gravity Man smirked and fired down once again… only to be hit full on by a charged blast.

"Ow… got you that time!" Mega growled, painfully rising to his feet. "Didn't even have to look… knew you'd stand there and keep firing!"

"Unlikely." Gravity Man disagreed. "I believe that was what the humans refer to as a 'lucky shot.' It shall not happen twice."

"I wouldn't bet the farm on that one, buddy!" Mega turned and ran across the room, away from him. Gravity Man frowned, then shrugged, switching gravity again. This time, however, as they fell, Mega Man fired. The charged shot hit Gravity Man square in the chest and knocked him flat on his rear.

"What? But… how?" He stammered. Mega snorted.

"Isn't it obvious? I figured out the timing on your switch, and fired at an appropriate time and angle."

"Well, then…" Gravity Man growled. "We'll have to keep you off your guard, then!" Crouching, he sprang forward in a sudden horizontal leap that carried him halfway across the room to stand under Mega Man. Instantly, he switched gravity, preparing to lash out with another physical attack at the blue… no, orange… hero. He frowned, realizing something was wrong but not knowing what… and then, pain. Screaming, he hit the ceiling. "What…" Opening his eyes, he saw Mega Man standing below him, covered in a globe of shimmering orange energy, patterned in stars. "Weapons Copy… Star Man's power?"

"The Star Crash." Mega confirmed. "And you've got nothing that can stop it, or protect you from it. I will take your power as well, once you are destroyed." Gravity Man's eyes narrowed, and he fired a plasma shot. It bounced off the plasma barrier harmlessly. Mega Man continued talking as if nothing had happened. "Now, then. Talk. What are Blues' plans? What are he and this Dark Man going to do? And for that matter, who is Dark Man? You're going to tell me everything, my friend."

"Heh. How… illogical." Gravity Man smiled a little. "You actually believe I will talk… haven't you realized that it's against my programming? Second Law… I must not betray Master Proto Man."  
"Is that so…" Mega shook his head. "Well, I have Laws too. And I've broken the Third and Second. So that's no real defense."

"Perhaps…" Gravity Man stood and bowed. "But even if I could… I would not choose to. You have defeated me, Mega Man… logically, defeat means death. So it shall be." Mega Man watched emotionlessly as the Robot Master fired his plasma cannon into his own face multiple times, twitching on the floor until finally all movement ceased. Once he was sure Gravity Man was dead, he walked over and took the Weapons Chip containing the Gravity Hold. It was but a moment's work at the controls before he disabled the teleport shield and sent a command to shut down all the robots; by this time he had grown used to such things. Finding Gravity Man's report on what he had discovered at the facility took slightly longer, but he did it.

"Good… looks like he wasn't finished and didn't send it." He immediately deleted it. "Well, looks like there's nothing more for me here… might as well get back to Cossack's, then."

"Hey, doc." Roll greeted Cossack as the Russian doctor emerged from his lab, tired but smiling. "I assume things went well?"

"Quite well, indeed." Dr. Cossack nodded. "I have all the files and parts necessary to upgrade Rock's Mega Buster… and by my calculations, it should increase the charged shot's power by 20." Roll whistled.

"Not bad at all, doc. That should definitely help."

"I hope so." Cossack ran a hand through his hair. "As hard as I try, I'll always be third best… next to your father and that madman Wily, my talents don't mean all that much."

"They're all we have now, doc." The robot girl reminded him. "Rock knows you can do the job… and so do the rest of us. You'll be just fine."

"I hope so…" Cossack smiled again. "Oh… I forgot to ask Mega… did he tell you if he had retrieved the circuit plate from Star Man?"

"Nope… but he probably did." Roll assured him. "Mega's good with stuff like that… remember back in your Rebellion? He managed to grab both Energen Crystals needed to restore Rush's extra abilities, plus both the Wire and Balloon utilities you invented."

"True." Cossack admitted. "Whatever happened to those, by the way?"

"In our computer's data banks, just like all the Master Weapons." Roll explained. "After every Rebellion, Rock retires all his abilities… says he doesn't feel right carrying around the abilities of dead Robot Masters longer than that. It's tactically unsound, but I kind of understand." She made a face. "The ones from the Third were donated by Blues, though, since Rock blew all of his out destroying Gamma." Dr. Cossack frowned, concerned.

"Will they still be all right, after the attack?"

"Yeah, the computer was one of the only things that WASN'T damaged." Roll nodded. "It's with the rest of the stuff that was brought here. We just haven't unpacked it."

"All right, then." Dr. Cossack nodded. "Kalinka's asleep, and it's time I was too."  
"Go ahead." Roll flopped down on a couch. "I'll watch some TV before hitting the stasis capsule, if you don't mind."

"Feel free. Night, then." Cossack retired, and Roll flipped through channels. She paused for a moment on some obscure cartoon dubbed from Norwegian involving a bear in butler's garb chasing a small child with strange all-blue eyes, but kept going.

"Blues probably would have kept watching that just to see what it was about." She muttered absently. "If he hadn't snapped, that is…"

"He HASN'T snapped." A voice behind her insisted angrily. Roll turned her head to see Kalinka Cossack in her nightgown, glaring knives.

"I thought your father said you were in bed."

"I couldn't sleep." Kalinka explained. "I kept thinking about… what's going on. The Rebellion."

"Yeah…" Roll sighed. "I know. My brother's really done it this time." Instantly, she knew she had said the wrong thing as Kalinka's eyes hardened, but it was too late.

"It's NOT your brother." She growled. "It's not him. It's another trick. It has to be."

"You weren't there." Roll told her. "You didn't see him grab dad… see him whistle that tune, and make his threats. It was him."

"No… no, it can't have been!" Kalinka's voice grew more frenzied. "How can you? You're his own SISTER… how can you say that? Believe that about him?"

"Because there's no other choice!" Roll yelled back, her own temper rising. "I SAW him, Kalinka! His voice, his mannerisms, his sense of humor, his scarf that he dropped, his whistle, they were all BLUES! They were all HIM, Kalinka, and denying that isn't helping the world ANY!"

"You're lying!" Kalinka shrieked. "You're wrong! Blues would NEVER do this! You're WRONG, Roll!" Struggling to keep herself from crying, the Russian girl turned and stormed off, leaving Roll feeling slightly foolish in front of the television.

"Well, it's good to get to know you better too, missy." Roll muttered, turning back to the screen. "Hope we didn't disturb the Doc with all that… what is this? Professional moose wrestling? Yugh." She changed a few channels again, then stopped upon seeing a familiar face. "Hey, it's that one UN guy, Martel… and there's Vinkus!" Martel appeared to be in mid-speech.   
"…Result of the dangers now shown by the Fifth Robot Rebellion, we at the UN shall be imposing new regulations upon the world in regards to the production and ownership of Robot Masters."

"Oh, no, here it comes." Roll moaned. "Vinkus has been making progress here, I see…" Strangely, however, the Japanese Councilor's face was looking somewhat uncertain as Martel continued.

"Firstly, for the duration of the Fifth Robot Rebellion and potentially afterward, all production of new Robot Masters, both corporate and private, is ordered to cease. No more Robot Masters will be built for the time being. Secondly, all owners of Robot Masters currently existing will be required by law to register them with their respective governments, and to bring said Robot Master or Masters in for testing to detect potentially dangerous programming errors."

"Programming errors?" Roll snorted. "Dangerous Robot Masters are caused by complete reprogrammings. Programming errors don't make a robot dangerous!"

"More regulations may be issued in time." Martel concluded. "These are not meant to encourage anti-robot feelings, or to discriminate against the nonhuman members of our society. They are simply to protect us, all of us, from a threat that endangers us all. Until Proto Man and all of his armies have been dealt with, these measures are necessary. We would like to remind everybody to give your deepest support to Mega Man, also a Robot Master, who is currently campaigning to end the danger posed by his older brother and the other renegade Robot Masters, as he has done in similar occasions four times past. That is all, and thank you." Roll frowned and shut the television off as the reporter began delivering her own opinion on what the UN council had just said.

"Rock's not going to be happy to hear this…" She predicted. "Oh well, at least they're still a good ways away from the stage of killing Robot Masters en masse. Rock might even be able to end this before we get to any witch hunting… if he takes out Blues, I doubt even Vinkus would have the nerve to push for it afterwards." But despite what she said… inwardly, Roll doubted that it would be so.


	7. Chapter 6: School Of Hard Rocks

**__**

Chapter 6: School Of Hard Rocks

"SHIT!" Dark Man swore loudly, slamming his lone fist into the console in front of him. Dr. Light glanced up interestedly at the angry Robot Master, who was continuing to curse like a sailor.

"Such language, young robot. Whatever is the matter?"

"Oh, shut your mouth, you old ape." Dark Man growled, not turning. "Or I'll do it FOR you. This is NOT a time I want to be bantering with you."

"He'll do it, too." Dr. Wily remarked conversationally. "Believe me, I know. Quite unpleasant, and he said next time he'd use the rivets."

"You shut up too." The red-and-black Robot Master snapped. "Telling master Proto Man about this is going to be unpleasant enough as it is without either of you yammering on in the background."

"Telling me about what, Dark?" Proto Man smiled nastily as he walked into the command center. "Is something wrong, hmmm?"

"We just lost Gravity Man, boss." Dark Man didn't even try to hide it as he turned to face his master. "Mega Man got him too."

"Did he send us the data from his lab?" Proto Man asked instantly. Dark Man's domelike head swiveled negatively. "Damn. Any chance of getting more people back in before the U.S. retakes it?"

"They're already there." Dark Man shook his head again. "Looks like they were waiting outside for Mega to do the job."

"Double damn!" Proto Man viciously kicked an unoffending Metool. "We were counting on getting that technology! We're still not strong enough, as little brother is demonstrating… we needed it to consolidate our hold!"

"There's still Stone Man, boss." Dark Man supplied helpfully. "I don't think they even realize what HE's up to at all… typical human stupidity, forgetting what's there already. Once he gets even one of his targets, even Mega Man won't be able to do anything to us."

"Stone Man." Proto Man snapped his fingers, his smile returning. "I had forgotten about him. Hm hm hm… I'm seeing possibilities here, Dark."

"Possibilities?" Dark Man asked, quizzical. Proto Man nodded absently, still thinking.

"Yes… possibilities. They don't know what Stone Man is up to, yes… or else brother mine would have gone for HIM right after Project SKYLIGHT, or maybe even before. And they likely won't figure it out, unless…" Dark Man's robotic yellow eyes blinked.

"Unless?"

"Unless we tell them." Proto Man grinned viciously, beginning to pace back and forth. "Make another one of our little calls, yes… insert proper superiority and gloating here… then announce Stone Man's intentions triumphantly, and watch the world recoil and tremble in fear! They'll panic in the streets, and little brother will have no choice but to head for Stone Man within the minute, filled to the brim with his own feelings of terror and rage! He'll be highly emotional… off kilter… easy to manipulate, and not at his cold, calculating best when fighting Stone Man. Yes, I definitely like this idea… we'll do it, then! Shall we make a call, Dark Man?"

"Um… boss?" Dark Man spoke hesitantly. "Are you… entirely sure this is a good idea?" Proto Man froze. He slowly turned his head to look at his subordinate, while keeping the rest of his body motionless, his smirk ever-present.

"Why, whatever do you mean, loyal Number 2? You wouldn't, shouldn't, couldn't possibly be questioning my decision… right?"

"Well… no, not really." Dark Man stammered, taking a step back. "I just… think maybe you should think it over some more. Those… what we put Stone Man on… might just be the most vital of the tasks we assigned our boys. Do we really want to blow it right now, before we even get one? We could win here and now if we got a few, and as long as they don't think anything's there they won't make it any sort of priority… why not take advantage of that?" Proto Man's smile widened a bit.

"You ARE questioning my decision." Lightning-fast, he moved in a blur of grey and red. Dark Man screamed in pain as he was slammed to the floor, and before he could blink Proto Man's foot drove down into his back, hard.

"AH! Boss, wait-AH!"

"You miserable construction of tin cans, YOU question ME?" Proto Man growled, driving the toe of his boot in again. "I am Proto Man, commander of the robot army! _I_ give the orders here, not you! YOU _take_ the orders! When I make a decision, you obey! When I give a command, you obey! When I say jump, you don't EVEN ask how high!" Proto Man was screaming now. Stomping once more, he bent over and grabbed Dark Man by the front of his shoulder spikes, pulling him off the floor so that they were face to face. "Am… I… clear enough for you… NOW?"

"Yes… yes, sir." Dark Man agreed instantly. "Understood. Everything is understood, sir. I won't do it again, sir." Sneering, Proto Man dropped him. Dark Man scrambled to his feet. "All right… we'll… we'll just make that call, then."

"Not quite yet." Proto Man hissed, smirk returning. "I've got more for you. First, Dark Man… tell me. WHY do you not question my orders? Why, exactly, do you obey every word from my mouth without fail? Answer me."

"Because he doesn't want to get the crap kicked out of him again?" Dr. Wily muttered sarcastically. Proto Man absently fired a plasma bullet at the toe of the old maniac's shoe, causing him to jump up, yelling.

"Quiet. I wasn't asking YOU. Well, Dark Man? Tell me why."

"Because…" Dark Man's eyes dimmed. "Because you found me, and made me what I am… because you are responsible for everything that has happened to me, everything that turned me into your second-in-command… and because you could strip me of it all, and put me right back where you found me, whenever you want."

"That's right." Proto Man said approvingly, calm again. "Very good, Dark Man. I just wanted to make things absolutely, one hundred percent clear there. I am the master here… we are not equals, we are not partners. Just because you're of higher rank than the other eight… sorry, six… doesn't change that. Okay?"

"Okay, boss." Dark Man shrugged. "Whatever you say goes."

"That's my loyal second-in-command." Proto Man joined him in front of the consoles. "Now then. Let's get back to business, shall we? I believe there was something about a call…"

"Yawn… morning, doc." Roll greeted Cossack as she walked into the castle's living room. "I see Rock's already up."

"Indeed." Dr. Cossack was drinking from a mug of coffee not QUITE as large as the ones customarily used by Roll's father. "And yes, I made the modifications to his Buster already… it was fairly simple, really… is something wrong?" Roll's face had paled.

"Dammit… Rock has a tendency to try out his new toys immediately, usually with disastrous effect on the décor… and the structural integrity, for that matter. I just hope he hasn't punched a hole in one of your walls yet… where is he?"

"On the walltops, actually." Cossack informed her calmly. "He asked me for a location where he could safely test it and his Gravity Hold, and I pointed them out to him."  
"Oh. Good, that's fine, then." The robot girl glanced at the television, remembering the announcement she had seen the previous night. "Has the UN called yet?"

"Not yet, but probably soon." Cossack guessed.

"I'd second that." Mega Man added, walking in. "They've got me on their leash this time… they're not going to miss a single opportunity to pull me along."

"If you look at it that way, then why did you agree to follow their orders?" Roll inquired. Mega shrugged.

"Didn't really have a choice in the matter, all things considered. Anti-robot sentiments are running high enough right now as is."

"They're even worse than you think." Roll told him darkly. She proceeded to fill the two of them in on the announcement she had seen. When she was done, both of them were frowning thoughtfully.

"I see… well, it's to be expected, really." Cossack sighed. "If they don't do something along those lines at the moment, the common people may revolt. When you think about it, considering how much action they COULD have taken, this is really quite tame."

"Yeah, but how long will it stay that way?" Roll growled. "At least Vinkus looks like he actually might say a few words FOR us, for once… he was looking decidedly uncertain on the TV. I wonder why, but I'm not going to start complaining about that, at least." As the other two nodded, Kalinka entered the room. Upon seeing Roll, her eyes hardened, and she made an about face, disappearing again. Mega blinked, looking from his sister's angry face to the door and back again.

"Am I missing something?"

"The girls had an argument last night." Cossack shrugged. "I heard it… well, all of us heard it, even Ring Man patching a hole in the tower roof. It happens."

"If you say so." Mega shrugged. None of them were prepared for what happened next. Without any warning, the TV darkened, then suddenly revealed Proto Man and Dark Man facing it, side by side.

"SPECIAL BULLETIN!" Proto Man cried jubilantly. "Hello, happy viewers! We're here, reporting live from my fortress in wouldn't-you-like-to-know, ready to once again enlighten you on the specifics of just how and why your pathetic species is doomed to extinction!"

"Remind me, bro… was he THIS irritating when he was sane?" Roll muttered, eyes not leaving the screen.

"No." Mega replied curtly.

"Didn't think so."

"First off, congratulations ARE in order to my little brother Mega Man for stomping two of my generals so far." Proto Man continued blithely, unaware of their commentary. "Firstly, for trouncing Star Man on Project SKYLIGHT. For those of you in TV Land who don't know what that is, don't worry, just go look it up. Assuming you apes still try to keep the majority of your population literate; I haven't checked recently. If you can, do so; should make you think again about just HOW much you DO rely on technologies. Might want to make sure certain idiot laws don't go TOO far, hmm?" He wagged a finger reprovingly. "Come on, humans, give us more credit than THAT. That's not going to hurt us any; it'll just make things worse for the poor shmucks who have nothing to do with us. And just piss us off more in doing so. Really good way to fight back, humans. I'm rolling my eyes, by the way, though you can't see 'em through these shades."

"So he knows about the new regulations as well." Cossack mused. "Not surprising, I suppose."

"Number Two, then, was whomping Gravity Man at that U.S. lab." Proto Man sighed theatrically. "Unfortunately, I can't really tell you everything that was going on there. Oh, believe me I WANT to know, but little bro capped Grav before he could send me his report on the goings-on. I'm quite sure, however, given how shady and hidden the contents of that place are, they're the sort of thing the U.S. really doesn't want people finding out about. Rulers of other human countries, I'm looking at YOU. Why not use what little time you have left in charge to find out just what those cheeky star-spangled devils are up to? I'll be executing you all soon anyways, so you might as well! Now then. The reason for this little talk we're having, folks, is that I'm impressed with brother mine's progress. So impressed, in fact, that I'm going to clue him-and all of you-on a little something that's likely been puzzling you. It's the activity of another one of my boys, a friendly fellow named Stone Man."

"That one HAS been confusing me." Mega admitted.

"He's in the Nevada mountains, for those of you not in the know, and I'm betting my best buddies at the UN and my dear family have been wondering what the hell ol' rocky's doing. Well, here's a hint…" Dark Man held up a map of the Nevada Mountains, with one area marked in bright red. "Does it help if you know that the Nevada Mountains were, in fact, one of many places used by the world after World War III… as a burial ground for nuclear weapons?" Mega Man erupted in a series of multilingual, one-hundred-decibel curse words. Roll was even more vocal… and creative, while Cossack contented himself with four or five in his native tongue.

"I think I heard your family's reaction all the way here, boss!" Dark Man cupped a hand to the side of his head theatrically.

"Most likely!" Proto Man laughed in agreement. "But cursing won't solve anything, family mine. I think you know what WILL, but will you do it? Of course you will, you're the hero-type. So predictable. Well then, have fun with that, and I'll be in touch again REAL soon!" The TV returned to its normal programming.

"That's it, then." Mega Man said bleakly. "I'm off to Nevada."

"Hello?" Roll snapped. "Can you say 'trap?' Because I sure can. Why else would he TELL us that?"

"I know, but I have to go anyways!" Mega growled back. "If he succeeds in digging up even ONE nuke… no. That CAN'T be allowed to happen. I'm going. Oh, before I forget again…" Taking off his helmet, he opened a hidden compartment inside and pulled out the two circuit plates he had acquired so far, handing them to Cossack. "I got both of these… here. I'll get the others, too, so go ahead and start installing these into that project of yours."

"I will." Cossack promised.

"Incoming call from the UN." Skull Man, who was manning the communications at the moment, called. Cossack glanced at Mega, who hesitated, then gave in and nodded.

"Put them on the vidphone." The Russian doctor ordered. The screen on the communications device flickered to life, revealing the U.N. Council.

"Mega Man." Martel, rumpled and disorderly, had obviously rushed into the call after a shock. "I assume you saw your brother's broadcast."

"Indeed I did, Councilor. You convene fast." Mega Man noted approvingly. Martel smiled momentarily.

"In truth, we were about to begin a meeting anyways when Councilor Vinkus brought the broadcast to our attention. At any rate, your course of action is painfully clear. Go to Nevada immediately and destroy Stone Man before he can complete his goal. If you fail, the world may be lost here and now. More than ever now… we're praying for your success."

"Mining equipment set up all over here already… damn." Mega Man noticed as soon as he arrived. The ground was a blend of solid brown rock and cold steel platform, dotted here and there with Metools. The closest one started walking towards him, and Mega immediately shot it. As it exploded, however, he received a nasty shock. From underneath the robot's hard hat, three tiny Mets hopped out. Before he could recover from his surprise, they had jumped on him. Small as they were, they weren't able to fire plasma bullets, but they could still emit tiny torches of it. Yelling, Mega pulled them off, dashed them to the ground and stepped on them, one by one.

"That's a nastily effective idea…" He admitted as he went on, making sure to blast any more mini-Metools before they could jump onto him again. "I hope it doesn't catch on." The entrance of the actual mining facility was in front of him, leading into tunnels inside one of the mountains. As he proceeded, destroying more Metools and duplicates of the moth robot that he had saved Vinkus from at his home, Mega noted that the walls were covered in mechanical equipment. The ceiling lights, for some reason, tinted them a strange green, but their complexity was obvious. Stone Man had had time to set everything up the way he needed. Mega swore again, firing a charged shot at a security 'bot sliding low on the floor towards him. The shot burned through easily and went on to strike a low point in the far wall. To the blue hero's surprise, it did more than just blast out a chunk. It continued on, blasting out a long tunnel. Bending over, Mega looked inside. At the back, he could see a room that had been hidden… and on the wall there, the gleam of a circuit plate. Without stopping to think, he slid through the low tunnel and into the hidden room. It was only as he plucked the valuable plate from the wall that he realized his error… too late. As he spun around, the tunnel he had slid through collapsed with a rumble, sealing him inside the hidden room.

"Heh heh heh…" A speaker in the upper corner chuckled. "And here I thought you were supposed to be a smart one. And a lucky one, for that matter. But here it turns out neither is right. Just goes to show you can't always believe what you hear, I guess."

"You would be Stone Man, I take it?" Mega guessed, forcing himself to keep his voice calm.

"Bingo." The voice on the speaker agreed. "And you, little blue, are trapped. My ability's the only thing that could clear a way out of there again, and surprise surprise, you don't have it. And, by the way, I've erected another miniature teleport barrier around the room too. So you can just hang out in there until I get around to having one of my 'bots collapse the ceiling on you. Have fun." The speaker crackled and died, leaving Mega alone in the sealed room again.

"Great." Mega sighed. "This is what I get for charging in without my head on straight. All right, think, Mega. You've gotten out of worse scrapes. What do you have?" He tried a charged shot, and it only destroyed a small portion of the rock, which was immediately replaced by more. "Okay, that's no good… the Star Crash won't do jack, either. Same with the Super Arrow, obviously, and Rush has nothing… which leaves the Gravity Hold." His armor changed colors, becoming purple and white. "If this was a natural cave-in, I'd be screwed… but since this was a mechanical trap… come on…" Activating the strange new weapon, he focused it on the cave-in. Slowly but surely, the blockage lifted, returning to the chambers above where it had been before the trap was triggered. Quickly, Mega slid back out, then deactivated the Gravity Hold. With another crash, the small tunnel filled up again. Now irritated more than worried, Mega pressed on, resolving to do something VERY nasty to Stone Man for THAT little trap.

The layout of the mining complex, unlike the aggravating mazes many Robot Masters had built of their bases, had quite a simplistic layout. Stone Man instead seemed to base his defenses around a ride variety of defensive robots, many of them a vivid green-whether painted that way or tinted by the strange lighting, Mega could not be certain. Remodeled variants of Dr. Wily's old Changkey Launchers were a surprise to find, launching heavy rocks from their tops instead of fireballs, but his new charged shot eliminated both boulder and 'bot easily. The glass-domed, spider-legged mines that dropped from clinging on the ceiling to scurry along the ground towards him were another unpleasant surprise; the first one knocked 10 off his energy instantly when it hit him. After that, he was much more sharp-eyed, and took them out before they could hit him. Finally, after more than an hour inside the tunnels, he emerged into daylight again. Without really realizing it, he had climbed up to a much higher elevation than he had started, and the mountains in the distance were now visible as peaks. The closest mountain, however, was still higher than the one he had just emerged from, and the mine went on inside it, with a series of platforms bridging the valley between them. Once he had crossed, however, Mega saw that it did not go into the mountain as had the first, but simply connected to more valley-spanning platforms. At that point, a dark suspicion crept into the blue hero's mind, and he looked down more carefully. Sure enough, down below, heavy digging 'bots were being commanded by Rockyfella Units, digging even deeper.

"That's where they're looking for the nukes." Mega realized. "Is Stone Man… no. Keeping by tradition-and Blues seems to be doing that-he'll be separate from the others, in a command center room." Crossing the next gap, he started to enter another cavern when one of the Rockyfellas, blissfully unknowledgeable of his presence, set off an explosive. The earth shook all around Mega, who immediately took a step back; as had been proven only minutes before, even he could not fight back against the crushing force of a cave-in. Slowly, the shaking subsided, and Mega looked back inside the tunnel. What he saw surprised him greatly; lying half-buried in a new pile of gravel was a glowing blue metal canister with an "E" on the side.

"An E-Tank… talk about a lucky find." The Blue Bomber said to himself. Another invention of Dr. Light, E-Tanks were containers of pure energy, portable inside their canisters and usable at a moment's notice to recharge a robot's lost internal operations energy. The only downsides were that, of course, they could each only be used once, and they were incredibly rare and expensive to produce; so much that even the Lights could not keep a steady supply around the house. Occasionally, Eddie would locate one, but none of the others had asked where his source was; Mega suspected he wouldn't like the answer. Pocketing the E-Tank, he continued deep inside a third, even taller mountain. The first robot he saw inside there, however, was not an enemy; it was almost as if thinking of him had actually summoned him.

"Beep beep!" Eddie, the Light's little suitcase 'bot, smiled upon seeing him.

"Hey, Ed!" Mega greeted him in return. "I forgot about you showing up in these places!" Starting in the Fourth Rebellion, Eddie had developed the habit of following Mega on his missions and meeting him at some point to deliver a helpful present from his family. His lid snapped up, revealing a large energy capsule. Smiling, Rock drained its contents, bringing his internal operations energy back to max. "Thanks, Ed. By the way, what happened at Star Man's and Gravity Man's?" Rolling his eyes, Eddie switched to binary and informed him that his own warp generator was not capable of going off-planet, while at Gravity Man's, Mega had closed the door behind him and he had been too short to reach the knob or find any other means of entering the building. The explanations were marked by an oddly sarcastic tone that the little robot had not possessed before. Chuckling, Mega patted him on the head as means of apology, and Eddie took off in a streak of brown light. Since the teleport shield was still up, he would be unable to leave directly, but he could instead zap to the boundary and then walk out from under it before teleporting a second time back home.

"Wish I could do that…" Mega sighed, watching him leave. "But I still have a job to do… and no more time to complain about it." Turning towards the ladder that lead up further into the mines, he set off again.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." The waitress at the small sidewalk café greeted the two men. "What would you like for today?"

"I'll have a cherry cola today, I think." Mr. X decided after a moment's thought.

"Tea for me." Dr. Corbun smiled. "Earl grey, though, if you have it… otherwise, green."

"The earl grey's no problem." The waitress assured him.

"Excellent… oh, there'll be one more joining us today." Dr. Corbun nodded. "He should be here soon." The waitress nodded back, smiling, and left.

"Darwin usually isn't late." Mr. X frowned. "Quite the opposite… he's the most punctual of us all. What do you suppose happened?"

"Rebellion issues." The British doctor guessed. "He IS on the UN, after all. It shouldn't be much longer." He frowned. "Just as long as he's not making another absurd proclamation like last night."  
"That was a bit silly, wasn't it?" Mr. X admitted. "Much as I loathe to admit it, Thomas' son's summary of it was probably accurate."

"We still don't know that's him." Dr. Corbun reminded the billionaire. "Oh, I'll admit it LOOKS bad, but you and me both know Blues, and we know that it's incredibly unlikely that he'd do something like this. I'm not saying we should go around proclaiming his virtues in town square…" He wrinkled his nose at a passing hellfire preacher who was carrying Blues' mugshot on a sign. "…But let's try to look at the brighter possibilities for as long as possible, hm? Come on, X, you're supposed to be the most optimistic one out of the four of us." The billionaire shrugged helplessly.

"You have a point… several of them. I suppose the recent news just got me down. All right, I'll stay open-minded."

"That's the spirit." Dr. Corbun grinned. "But let's not talk about it around Darwin, hm? HE's absolutely convinced Blues has gone off the deep end, so let's not start anything. Our little gentleman's club is reduced enough as is. Speak of the devil, there he is now." The portly UN Councilor looked exhausted as he sat down next to them.

"Trent… X." Vinkus greeted them before placing his order with the waitress. "I was almost going to say I couldn't make it, but you both DID come to Japan. It's been hectic, though, so I probably shouldn't stay too long."

"We always met here before when half of us lived in this country." Mr. X shrugged. "Just because Thomas is temporarily unavailable is no reason to stop."

"Temporarily unavailable? That's a novel way to put it." Dr. Corbun raised an amused eyebrow. "True, though, now that I think about it. It's only a matter of time before Rock… or Mega Man, whichever you prefer… rescues him."

"You're not worried in the slightest?" Darwin Vinkus said almost accusingly.

"Oh, of course I am, Vinky." The British robotocist said with his cheeriest smile. "I'm biting my fingernails to the bone and sweating buckets, and that's when I'm sleeping. But I know that in the end, Rock will triumph like he always does. That's what keeps me from going nuts."

"I suppose." Vinkus nodded gloomily. "Still, this may be the worst Rebellion yet… the whole humans-vs.-robots thing is a nightmare." The other two exchanged surprised glances.

"I thought you would have championed it." Mr. X said cautiously. "I mean… you don't like robots at all."

"I don't trust them." Vinkus admitted. "But I didn't want things to be like this… well, I haven't for years now anyways. It may be entirely possible that by now, Robot Masters are so engrained in our society that if the UN tries to completely rip them out, it'll cause more damage than good. You saw that announcement… announcements, I should say. Both ours, and Blues'. I'm afraid that if he was right and the first regulations don't impact him much, we might be forced to make sterner ones. And if we go TOO far… Mega Man might decide to stop aiding us." Dr. Corbun's first instinct was to scoff, but he hastily suppressed it, and a quick glance to Mr. X's face told him the billionaire was thinking the same thing.

"Perhaps…" The British robotocist frowned in thought. "Hm… maybe something should be done about that."

"Like what?" Vinkus blinked.

"Perhaps… a publicity stunt?" Mr. X asked cautiously. "Something to show that we as a society still support those Robot Masters not under Blues' control, and to clarify that those ones still support us? Nothing gigantic, of course… just a little something to show everybody we're all on the same side against this threat?"  
"It's a possibility." The UN Councilor admitted. "Of course, I don't know if the UN will agree to cover the costs for such a thing…"

"There's the beauty of it, old friend." Mr. X continued hastily. "It doesn't have to. I'll pay for the entire thing myself, and Trent can help me arrange the details. If he's amenable, we'll both stay in Japan until it's done. All you have to get the UN to do is say that they approve of it."

"I think I can handle that." Vinkus nodded. "All right, you two rogues. I have the feeling I'm making a mistake here, but I'll help you. How long will it take to get this ready?"

"About a week… maybe a little less." Mr. X said after a moment's thought.

"Very well." Vinkus rose. "Excuse me… I have to use the facilities. We'll talk about the details when I get back… oh, and if the waitress comes while I'm gone, please tell her I'd like the lobster."

"That was brilliant, X!" Corbun chortled once the UN Councilor had left. "Poor Vinky… I almost feel sorry for him."

"I am sure Darwin will approve of what I have planned…" The billionaire's snow-white beard twitched. "…Eventually." The British robotocist grinned.

"And to think, I was afraid without Tom our gatherings wouldn't be the same. A week, you said? Is that really enough time for something… well…"

"I've actually been planning this for some time before this Rebellion." Mr. X explained. "It's near completion already. It was originally just a pet project… but now, it will suit our purposes perfectly. I assume I can count on your support?"

"Of course." Dr. Corbun assured him. "I'm sure my wife will be fine with it… she may even come attend the ceremony herself. She's always wanted to see Japan."

"Then we have a plan." Mr. X picked up a menu. "Now, then… which of these shall I try today?"

As Mega Man walked through the steel shutter that led into Stone Man's room, a bright light suddenly flashed into his optics. Wincing, he covered them with one arm, readying himself for some kind of an attack, but none came. Lowering his arm and looking away from the floodlight, he examined the room. Stone Man had obviously spent some time setting it up, possibly with Proto Man's help; two floodlights were shining on him, and two more on a blank piece of the floor opposite him. No other lights were on, but Mega's optics were better than human eyes, and he could dimly see many cameras surrounding the battlefield.

"All right kids, show's about to start!" A slightly familiar voice announced. "In this corner, we have the champion of the stinking apes, the infamous 'blue bomber', and my master's little brother… Mega Man!" Mega frowned; the voice was coming from the center of the room, where a Robot Master with armor colors too dark to be identifiable yet was talking to the cameras. Then he saw the 'bot's near-lack of a head, and he knew.

"Dark Man!"

"Don't get excited, hero." Dark Man replied without turning. "I'm not really here. This is just a hologram. All I'm here for is to do the introductions." Mega blinked, uncomprehending.

"Introductions?"

"Master Proto Man decided to do the apes a favor, and let them see with their own eyes exactly what happens when Robot Master fights Robot Master. These cameras are broadcasting live to the human television channels. You've got a live audience this time, Mega Man, so it'll be extra humiliating if this is the time you finally lose! Ahem… and in this corner, we have the big brown brute, fourth General of our robot armies, formerly known as the Rockyfella Model prototype… let's give it up for Stone Man!" Dropping from the ceiling, the brown Robot Master raised his arms, posing for the cameras.

"Yeah… thank you!"

"Enjoy the fight, boys!" Dark Man winked wickedly before the hologram vanished. Stone Man immediately flexed his legs and made a huge vertical leap, crossing the entire room. Once, Mega Man would have stood frozen in surprise as the much heavier Robot Master plummeted towards him… but now, he simply slid away, turned and fired a charged shot. However, the tremendous leap was not Stone Man's real surprise; as he loosed the shot, Mega realized that upon landing, the mighty Robot Master had crumbled into a loose pile of brown bricks.

"What the HECK?" The Blue Bomber yelled as the blast destroyed a few of the bricks, but only a few. Seconds later, the pile rose and seamlessly reformed into Stone Man.

"Heh heh heh…" The brick 'bot chuckled. "Well, lookit dat, viewers. Da Blue Bomber's flummoxed. Better keep on yer toes if yew want any chance of winning dis fight!" He jumped again, and a second time Mega slid away. Again Stone Man crumbled into bricks, and after a few moments he reformed. "Heh… neat trick, huh? Yew can just call me da Brown Devil-GAH!" He grunted in surprise as a charged plasma shot hit him in the lantern jaw.

"You talk too much." Mega Man growled. "And that trick of yours is nothing… I just wait until you reform, THEN nail you."

"Oh yeah? How 'bout dis, den?" Stone Man jumped again, but this time it was a series of smaller hops, bouncing one after another. Mega Man slid away, then immediately repeated the action, knowing that the enemy Robot Master would follow with another large jump. Stone Man took another hit as he reformed, and gritted his teeth. "Fine, den! Time for da REAL showstopper!" He flexed his arms, and three lumps of earth the size of his head suddenly burst out of the walls. "Dese were made specially for my weapon! Eat dis!" The lumps of dirt-covered metal had been flying towards him, but instantly, they changed movement and began flying in a circular orbit around him. Mega Man fired again, but the shot bounced off a lump.

"Plasma-deflective! Damn!" Mega swore.

"Dat's right!" Stone Man laughed, raising his arms and posing. "And yer shots can't get past 'em! Dis is my Power Stone, and it's unbeatable!"

"You're not the only one with tricks up his sleeve…" Mega Man turned orange, and the Star Crash activated. Stone Man was unfazed; he concentrated, and the orbit widened, his metal "rocks" flying further out. One of them slammed into the Star Crash… and shattered it, slamming Mega Man brutally to the ground.

"HAW! Looks like yer knockoff of my buddy's shield ain't as good as da original!" Stone Man grinned evilly and leaped forward, disengaging the Power Stone as he moved, intending to crush Mega Man underfoot to finish him. However, he landed on nothing, as Mega Man had slid again. Again he fired, switching back to the Mega Buster as Stone Man reformed once more.

"I don't go down after just one hit either." The Blue Bomber informed him as Stone Man angrily pulled his Power Stones back around him. "Let's see how this works, then…" His color scheme shifted again, this time to purple and white. Stone Man rose into the air for a few inches, then dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Dat smarted! Haw haw haw! Yer no Gravity Man either, pal!" Laughing, he sent his Power Stones out. "No more jumpin' around, den… I'll let my rocks batter yew ta pieces!" Wincing as a Power Stone bashed him in the side, Mega activated the Gravity Hold again. Stone Man floated a bit again, chuckling.

"Told ya already, this won't do nothing…. HUH?" His lantern jaw dropped as he saw an unfamiliar projectile flying at his face. The Super Arrow. Dr. Corbun's gift struck his face, and as it had with the purple giant in Gravity Man's territory, the white goo on the end covered his face. Blinded, Stone Man staggered around, feeling the pain of more charged shots. With a bellow of rage, he scraped a hand across his face, removing the obstruction. "Dere! Now I'll… huh?" He pitched forward, suddenly feeling weak. "Can't… move my arms? What did…"

"I beat you." Mega Man explained, walking towards him. "That second Gravity Hold wasn't meant to affect you… it threw the orbit of your Power Stone off enough for the Super Arrow to get through, and once it did I was able to finish you off. I noticed the first time I used the Hold that it affected the Power Stone more than it did you… but you were too busy showboating to see that. Or to keep an eye on how much damage you were taking, for that matter. And thus… you lose."

"No… way…" Stone Man groaned as the last of his energy slipped out, and his eyes closed. Mega Man glanced at the cameras, even now watching him. Every circuit in his body cried against playing the hero, against giving the media what they wanted… but the world, and more importantly, the species he represented… needed this.

"See that?" The Blue Bomber pointed at Stone Man's corpse. "He died. Like all of them did… and all of them will. Any robot who turns against us… against both humans, and against the GOOD Robot Masters… I'll bring them down. Every one." Bending over Stone Man, he pried the weapons chip out and absorbed the Power Stone.

"Good, good, very good!" Dark Man's disembodied voice suddenly cackled. Though he sounded cocky, barely-held-in rage could easily be detected. There was no hologram this time…just the sound and the fury. "That's three down… now I want to fight you even more! But be warned, Mega Man… I'm not like those others. When OUR time comes, you won't bring me down anywhere near as easily!"

"I didn't expect you would be." Mega Man replied to the air. "But I've fought those like you before as well, and destroyed them too. So any time you're ready, whoever you are, Dark Man… bring it on." There was no response. Shrugging, Mega Man sent the shut-down command from the computer systems, then destroyed the controls. "There… that eliminates the threat of nukes. I'm not sure if that command works on Robot Masters… but even if the other Rockyfellas are still active, they won't be able to reactivate the other robots now… and without them, not only will they be unable to do any more digging, the UN should be able to wipe them out with a bombing raid or something." There didn't seem to be any more point to staying there, so Mega Man warped away.


	8. Chapter 7: Rail Ridin'

**__**

Chapter 7: Rail Ridin'

__

"I hate shoddy public transportation." -Zero Omega, summing up a mission to destroy a Neo Arcadian supply train

"We are enormously pleased with your progress so far, Mega Man." Councilor Martel complimented the Blue Bomber smoothly. "Recovering three of the territories in as many days… very commendable."

"It's what I do." Mega shrugged. "I've pretty much gotten used to it by now. I appreciate it, Councilors, but could we move on to business? I don't really need the fancy talk and compliments; save those for your public appearances. I've got a job to do, and you've got to tell me how to do it."

"Blunt, but true." Martel smiled. "Very well, then, as you wish. We have decided, after much deliberation…" He glanced back at the other members, and for a moment his smile became a sardonic smirk. "…That the captured territory of the highest priority at the moment is the European train system."

"That would be… Charge Man, correct?" Dr. Cossack remembered. Martel nodded.

"Correct. While not of the same immediate danger as the previous three, the longer it remains under enemy control, the more danger of a disastrous collision and/or severe alterations to the system. Thus, we now wish you to reclaim that location. This would normally be problematic, considering the size of the system, but we have discovered from spy satellites that Charge Man tends to stay on one train, and operate everything else from there... The 1301." Roll frowned.

"What exactly is he doing with all the trains?"

"Transporting supplies, mostly." Martel explained. "All the stations are under Charge Man's control, and a great deal of product is shipped daily through those, so everything that was being held at them at the time of the attack is his now. Obviously, he is only interested in metals, electronic parts, weaponry and the like. He's been keeping all the trains running on their normal routes so far, so he hasn't altered the system drastically… unfortunately, even with the satellites we have been unable to discover the point at which the supplies leave the train… they just seem to vanish. We have thus been unable to use any means to track them and discover Proto Man's location."

"He always was a master at hiding important things." Mega nodded somberly. "If he's managed to keep it from you this long, you're not going to find anything no matter how long you try. So there's no point in risking him causing more trouble in the hope of doing so."

"Such… was our thinking, yes." The white-haired Councilor admitted, a little startled by how quickly the robot boy had realized that. "With that explained, then… your next mission is to destroy Charge Man. Good luck, Mega Man." The screen blipped out.

"Might as well be going, then." The Blue Bomber shrugged, then paused. "Hey… wait a second…" His sister raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem?"

"Yeah… he never said what stations the 1301 stopped at!" Mega shook his head ruefully. "Guess I'll have to call them back…"

"Actually, there appears to be a call from Dr. Corbun incoming." Bright Man called. "Shall I put him on?"

"Excellent." Dr. Cossack smiled. "Go ahead, Bright… perhaps we can ask him."

"Hello, chaps." The British robotocist greeted them. "Hope I'm not calling at a bad time."

"On the contrary." Mega Man smiled back. "There's something you might be able to help us with… but you look like you have something else you want to tell us first. Go ahead."

"All right… we might have a good surprise coming up, as opposed to all the bad ones we've been having lately." Dr. Corbun grinned. "I assume you're all familiar with that odious decree the UN passed. Well, me and X thought it would be a good idea to drub up some support for the Robot Masters who are still on our side. In about six days or so, we're going to be opening up a little idea of X's to remind the public that this current Rebellion is not the be-all end-all of robotics. I think you'll enjoy it. Now, then, what can I help you with?"

"Well, the UN told me to go after Charge Man next, and said he tends to stay on one train… but they never told me where it stops at." The Blue Bomber admitted. "Are you familiar with the train system?"

"You've come to the right guy, my friend!" Dr. Corbun grinned. "Back when I running Sennet Robotics, I rode that system on a weekly basis all over the continent! Did they tell you what train it was?" Mega nodded.

"The 1301."

"1301... Around now…" The British robotocist thought for a moment. "It should be stopping at… the station in the city of Lyon soon."

"Thanks, doc." Mega smiled. "Now, I just have to bring down Charge Man… wonder what tricks he'll pull out. Some of these Robot Masters have been pretty interesting to fight… like Stone Man." He raised an eyebrow. "That brick trick, for example."

"Ah… yes." Dr. Corbun coughed. "I had forgotten about that, or I would have told you. I wasn't involved that much on the Rockyfella's construction. From what I know, the designers got the idea from what you told the history books about Wily's Yellow Devil… they couldn't reproduce the technology anywhere near perfectly, of course, since they were nowhere near as good as Wily, but they got a weaker version of it out… that 'brick trick', as you put it."

"Yeah… that explains that stupid 'Brown Devil' taunt he made, though." The Blue Bomber shook his head. "His weapon's interesting, though… It seems Blues, or whoever's in charge-I'm still not totally sold on the obvious-made more modifications to Stone Man's weapons chip than I'd thought. It was specifically adapted for the form of the Power Stone… since I don't have those three plasma-deflective chunks following me around, the matter synthesizers in my Buster create substitutes. They're just cheap replicas, though, so they're not plasma deflective, and I can't control the orbit as well as big brown could. That's always been the trouble with Weapons Copy… simple stuff, it's fine, but it can't capture all the nuances of the more complicated techniques perfectly."

"Still handy to have around, I'll bet." Dr. Corbun guessed. "I wonder how it'll handle Charge Man."

"Only one way to find out." Mega shrugged. "Still, using new weapons each time is one of the more interesting… and I suppose sometimes even fun parts… about this business. The only fun part, really… and a few years ago, I wouldn't even have admitted that. Guess I'm changing with the times."  
"Guess so." Dr. Corbun agreed. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. Give 'im hell for me!" The Blue Bomber smiled darkly.

"I always do."

"So, he's off to Charge Man's now…" Dark Man muttered, watching the screens. "Of course, he goes for one of our 'suppliers' now that the big threats are out of the way… well, excluding Napalm Man…" He frowned. "Now that I think about it, it's about time I checked on him again. I haven't heard anything from Napalm Man since me and the boss called to yell at him, and that worries me."

"Dealing with incompetent underlings is one of the prices of our career path." Dr. Wily advised him. "It happens to the best of us."

"And the worst, if you know so much about it." Dark Man growled, not turning around. The deranged doctor nodded calmly.

"Oh, yes, I've had my share of fools. It's my son Doc Man who got it worst, though… when I got copies of the Sennet models, I found out he had had to deal with TWO idiots AND a crazy. None of them were as bad as your Napalm Man, of course, but still."

"Yeah, yeah…" Dark Man muttered. Strangely, the dome-headed Robot Master didn't seem to be responding to any action on Wily's part with violence as he usually did. Dr. Light frowned, then spoke up.

"You seem morose. I take it things aren't going as planned?"

"What do YOU think, doc?" Dark Man snarled. "We lost Stone Man too, and before he could get any more nukes. If we hadn't called that in, we would almost certainly have gotten some… and now we've got squat. And after seeing him fight, I've become convinced that your kid… the master's little brother… only has a chance to be beaten by one of our top three. While his avoidance of Napalm Man is understandable, I WISH he'd have the decency to go after one of the Mean Greens."

"Gyro Man and Crystal Man?" Dr. Light remembered a conversation he had overheard earlier between Proto Man and his subordinate.

"Yeah. But nooooo, he just keeps picking off the less-powerful guys one by one. If he goes after Wave Man next, I think I'll have to go slaughter a small town or something to avoid overloading my circuits."

"Now there's a good stress-release exercise if I ever heard one." Dr. Wily grinned wickedly, looking like he had during previous Rebellions for a brief moment. Before either of the other two could respond to that, the doors to the command center whizzed open, and Proto Man skipped in.

"Hey, Dark. How're things going?"

"Stone Man's toast, boss." Dark Man shrugged. "Your bro's heading for Charge Man's right now to do the same to him, most likely."

"Losses of war." Proto Man shrugged easily. "It happens."

"It didn't have to…" Dark Man muttered, and Proto Man frowned.

"What was that?"

"Nothing… it's just that… well…" The dome-headed Robot Master turned around in his chair to face his master. "Boss, I'm not questioning your orders or anything… believe me, I'm not… but I want to know WHY we made that call? What was the point that was worth losing the nukes?"

"That's a fair question." Proto Man's smile returned. "You want to know what was accomplished in that that was worth giving up the nukes. Tell me, Dark Man, do you remember what our number one objective is?"

"To conquer the world." Dark Man replied automatically.

"Correct." The son of Light flopped into his own chair. "But now can you tell me… what the largest impediment in the way to that objective is?"

"Your brother." Dark Man answered just as quickly.

"That's right. One thing I've learned from this idiot…" Proto Man jerked a thumb at the caged Dr. Wily. "…Is that no matter how elaborate your plans, no matter how unstoppable your arsenal… if you don't concentrate everything on Mega, and I mean EVERYTHING, he WILL bring it all down. Now look at what we did from his viewpoint. We just did what seems like an extraordinarily stupid thing. HE'll try to find a reason for us doing it as well. And what do you suppose HIS thoughts will end up at?" Dark Man pondered it for a moment, and his eyes lit up.

"Confidence?"

"Exactly." Proto Man leaned back. "He'll think we threw those nukes away because we didn't NEED them. He'll immediately dismiss that thought as exaggerating our threat, of course, little gloomy gus that he is, but in the back of his psyche, that idea will still burrow in like a worm. He'll be less certain of himself… more cautious. And that'll only get worse as time goes on. In other words, Dark, we're focusing less on direct physical warfare, and more on psychological, with one target in mind. Before we can conquer the world, we HAVE to conquer my brother. That much is pure, unshakable truth… and if we play our cards right, we can do it. Now then… how's everybody doing? Especially Napalm Man?"

"I was about to check on him…" Dark Man admitted, punching a few buttons. "Now, let's see here… HUH?"

"TELL me he's started." Proto Man growled, clutching his face.

"No can do, boss." Dark Man's eyes flashed again, this time in anger. "Wait until I get my hand on that idiot!" It was not Napalm Man himself, however, who answered the call he sent, but a subordinate Warmonger.

"Uh… hello?"

"Hello." Proto Man grinned tightly. "Where. Is. Napalm. Man."

"Uh… he's out attacking a tree." The Warmonger reported. "Idunno why."

"Well, at least he's making an effort." Dark Man sighed. "He's attacking the tree because we told him to, you idiot. Go get him in here."

"But…" The Warmonger's eyes dimmed. "You just said… you told him to attack the tree, not come talk to you." Behind his shades, one of Proto Man's eyes was spasming.

"And NOW we're telling you to bring him here." Dark Man explained patiently.

"Oh, okay." The Warmonger disappeared. A few minutes later, Napalm Man's face popped up.

"Uh… hi, boss. I'm doing what you said."

"So tell me then, Napalm Man." Proto Man growled. "Why aren't the trees burning, if you are?"

"Well…" Napalm Man shifted his feet. "Every time I blast a tree… all this machinery pops up and puts the fire out." Dark Man and Proto Man glanced at each other, then back at Napalm Man.

"…You didn't deactivate the safety measures the humans built into the place in case of natural fires, did you?" Dark Man asked finally. Napalm Man blinked in consternation.

"Uh… no?" Proto Man turned away, sighing.

"This job is suddenly a lot less attractive than it used to be. Dark Man, educate this dolt. I'm out of here." As Dark Man began giving the brainless lackey step-by-step directions, Proto Man stalked out of the control center, waving his arms in the air and muttering to himself.

The streets around the train station in Lyon were nearly deserted; nobody was taking chances on being around if the local authorities decided to try and confront the robots occupying it. Thus, the only man to see a bright blue streak of light descend from the heavens and materialize as Mega Man was a single drunk hobo, who responded by declaring himself the Grand Turnip of China and passing out. Ignoring this, Mega walked into the station.

"Is that…? Yep, that's the 1301..." Mega muttered, scanning the first train he saw. "Looks like it's not done loading… good." Nearby, he saw several cargo hooks loading heavy steel drums onboard. More importantly, he saw somebody he recognized standing on the roof of the train, yelling orders at the subordinate Railroader model controlling the station. "Charge Man."

"Move faster, you fool!" Charge Man was screaming, pumping his fist. "Time is everything to us! Master Proto Man needs this as fast as possible, so work harder, you buffoons!" Narrowing his eyes, Mega Man contemplated his course of action. There was no way he would get close enough for a fight without being spotted… so instead, he simply loosed a single charged shot. Unfortunately, as he did, Charge Man turned around. His eyes went wide, and he ran out of the way of the shot.

"Mega Man! Get him, you idiots!" Hatches in the walls of the station opened, disgorging flying robots with racks of bombs hanging from their undersides. Mega Man was forced to shift his attention to them, dancing around and firing madly while avoiding the bombings while Charge Man bellowed to start the train right away. By the time he had finished, the 1301 was already moving. Looking around frantically, Mega spotted a ladder hanging off the side of one of the rear cars. As it sped past, he made a desperate jump and grabbed hold, then climbed up to the roof.

"Phew… that was close." The Blue Bomber muttered. "All right then… Charge Man will be at the front of the train, of course. Time to get moving." It wasn't long before Charge Man deployed robots to stop him; namely, miniature locomotives with Metools driving them. "Har… cute." He changed his assessment shortly; once it got near him, the "Metrain" raised its helmet, fired a triple plasma shot, then charged forward to run him down. Fortunately, he was able to destroy it with a charged shot before THAT hit, but the plasma still stung. "Rats… have to think of a way to take those things out from a distance. But as long as they keep their helmets down, most of my weapons won't work… except…" Smiling, he switched to the Gravity Hold. The next time he saw a Metrain, he activated it, and the small robot went flying off of the fast-moving vehicle. "Bingo." That plan of action served him well as he walked across the roofs of several more cars, until he reached a hatch that led down inside one of them.

"Hm… across the roofs some more, or down below? Let's check the weapons energy…" Bringing up a display in the corner of his eye, he checked the energy meter for the Gravity Hold. Unlike the Mega Buster, which could be used an infinite number of times, the Master Weapons each had a separate energy supply. Once they had been used too many times, the energy would be out and he would be unable to use them again until he had recharged back at Cossack's or found a weapons energy capsule from a destroyed robot. The Gravity Hold was almost at that point; understandably, it was apparently a high-cost weapon. "Yeesh… down below where there probably won't be any Metrains, then." He glanced ahead and winced; the next car's roof was entirely covered in spikes. "Double yeesh. DEFINITELY down." The enemies inside the train car were the same types that had been sent to attack his home; robotic moths and mice, as well as eggs that were built on the spot by large, clucking robotic chickens. Unlike the Metrains, all of them fell easily to his Buster, and several of them left weapons energy to refill his Gravity Hold. As he walked through, Mega noted that in addition to the metal drums he had seen being loaded, the car was dull of logs and building stone… useless to Proto Man.

"Guess Charge Man didn't bother clearing this stuff out…" Mega shrugged, glancing out one of the windows. "Hey!" The circuit plate of Cossack's had been taped to it. Upon examining it closer, however, Mega realized with a groan that it was taped to the OUTside of the window. "Can't get it right now while the train's in motion… I'll have to come back for it after toasting Charge Man, I suppose."

"Having trouble, Mega Man?" A familiar voice on the train's PA system taunted him.

"Not really." Mega replied easily. "Just a short delay in picking up a bonus. No real difficulties."

"Oh, well, we all have to strive for maximum efficiency…" Charge Man growled. "Here then, I'll give you a hand." Mega Man winced as his ears were filled with the metal screeching of brakes, and the train ground to a halt. "There you go. Now get done as fast as possible, you hear?" He chuckled, and the system clicked off. Mega Man snorted, climbing back onto the train's roof.

"Like I'm going to fall for THAT…" Ignoring the circuit plate, the Blue Bomber continued towards the front of the train. After a sullen pause, it started moving again. The weapons capsules he had picked up inside the car had brought his Gravity Hold's weapons energy back up, and he was once again able to fling Metrains off to their dooms. This time they were interspersed with more of the modified Changkey Launchers he had seen at Stone Man's. These ones, though, were painted yellow, and instead of firing rocks they launched explosive spheres. A lucky shot by one of those brought Mega's energy down to 80. All in all, he was in a foul mood by the time he reached the locomotive. Conveniently, it also had a hatch in the roof he could drop in through. Inside, one last robot stood between him and the metal shutters that had been installed outside the engine room. A eight-foot-high, squat-bodied, angry red ape-bot with a missile bay covering the front of its torso. Raising its arms furiously, it opened the hatch and released a homing missile.

"A bodyguard." The Blue Bomber sighed. "Great. Let's get to it, then." Leaping into the air, he fired.

"It's been too long since we've had a chance to chat, old friend." Dr. Cossack smiled, and Dr. Corbun nodded.

"Indeed it has… and this blasted Rebellion just makes things worse." While the Russian Doctor's relationship with Dr. Light's other two close friends, Darwin Vinkus and Mr. X, were only casual, he had spent many years of his earlier life working with Dr. Corbun at Sennet Robotics. With Corbun as the head and Cossack as the lead genius, the company had prospered as Lighttech's main competitor until its breakup that began with Sergei's resignation shortly before the First Rebellion and ended with Sennet's bankruptcy thanks to the Third. Despite that, the two men were both close friends, but with Cossack helping Dr. Light and Corbun hard at work with US Robotics, they hadn't seen each other for more than a few minutes in months. After Mega Man had left, though, the others had vacated the room, and the two men were talking while Dr. Cossack worked on installing the circuit plates Mega Man had recovered into his latest project.

"Well, perhaps we can hook up once this mess is over and done with." Cossack shrugged.

"Yes indeed… I won't have quite so much work to deal with." Corbun smiled a bit sheepishly. "Not that my current employer will be going bankrupt or anything, but I don't think they'll be making any more Robot Masters for quite a while."

"I've been wondering about that." Cossack paused in his work for a moment. "After Sennet died, I wouldn't have guessed you'd work for one of our strongest competitors, for any price. And you didn't need the money or anything… you could retire quite comfortably at any time, especially since you discovered those Energen Crystals mines. What made you decide to forget your pride and take their offer?"

"It got me back into the field." Dr. Corbun sighed. "Look at it from my point of view, Sergei. You don't have my problem; despite what you think, you're the only other robotocist in the world who's even in Tom and Wily's class at all. Me, though… if I just stayed at home and made things by myself, nobody would ever know or care about them. I'm not a nut for fame or anything, but complete insignificance isn't fun, either. And as time passed, the contacts I'd need to get parts and tools worth a damn would fade, and that'd be it. It might be a little galling to work for a former enemy, but at least I can still build Robot Masters… and if I can still manage to remain not just on good terms but actually friends with Darwin, then there's no reason I can't stand working for US Robotics."  
"You have a point there." The Russian robotocist nodded. "Then I'll wish you luck with whatever they have you do in the future."

"And the same to you in your future endeavors." Corbun echoed. "Is that the secret project I've heard about you're working on?"

"Of course." Cossack confirmed. "I trust you won't say a word to any of the others about it?"

"My lips are zipped." The British robotocist smiled, looking it over before unknowingly echoing the words of Dr. Albert Wily two Rebellions prior in a similar situation. "Very cute."

"Perhaps, but it will prove a formidable weapon when completed." Cossack promised grimly.

"So I see." Corbun murmured, scanning it. "I like the claws… those'll do some damage, I'll bet. Young Rock will be happy with it, I'll wager. Speaking of which, how are he and Roll doing at your place?"

"As well as can be expected, under the circumstances." The Russian robotocist frowned. "There is one thing, though I'm not sure if I should… well, wait, perhaps you can help me. You've raised daughters."

"Two of them, both of them fully grown and moved out now, thank whatever gods there are." Dr. Corbun admitted wholeheartedly. "Not that I don't love the girls-I do-but the teenage years were successive nightmares. Why, is there a problem with Kalinka or something?"

"Not with me personally, no…" Cossack glanced around to make sure nobody was walking in before continuing. "She and Roll are having an argument… they're not speaking to each other, and they don't even like being in the same room at the same time much."

"Oh ho…" Corbun's eyes widened a bit. "Yes, that sounds like a spot of trouble… any idea what caused it?"

"Blues… Proto Man." Cossack admitted glumly. "They're of differing opinions on whether or not it truly is him behind this Rebellion… Roll thinks it is, and Kalinka refuses to even consider it. They had it out quite loudly a couple nights back, and ever since… well."

"Well, that happens sometimes." The British robotocist thought for a moment. "Kalinka is around ten now, isn't she? And while Roll may seem like an adult mentally a lot of the time, she's even younger. Such things happen at times between children as they grow… especially girls, from my experience. It'll cool off in time, with luck… and whatever you do, DON'T get involved. One wrong move, and they'll BOTH turn on you, then resume even angrier once you're gone. That was never my idea of a pleasant way to spend a day, and I don't think it would be yours either." Cossack winced visibly.

"Ah… no. I'll follow your advice and stay out of it, then." His face grew grim. "On that note… what do YOU think? Of the mastermind behind this Rebellion, I mean? Is it really Blues?"

"I'm withholding judgment for the moment." Corbun shrugged. "Not enough information to make any sort of permanent decision. In all likelihood, I probably won't decide at all until Rock storms the bugger's headquarters, beats the tar out of him and finds out. And you?"

"I flip-flop." The Russian robotocist admitted. "Sometimes I think of Wily, of all the deceptions he's masterminded so far, how he fooled everybody else before… but then I remember seeing Blues, and knowing how real he seemed. I know him quite well… he was a good friend and a frequent visitor to all of us here… and all of his mannerisms, his personality, his little quirks are spot-on. If it ISN'T him, then Wily or whoever it IS is very, VERY good at faking being other people… and that's a frightening thought all by itself." Corbun shivered.

"Hadn't thought of it that quite that way… you're right, that is a scary thing to think about. Brr. Well, I'm going to have to go now… need to help X set up his little surprise."

"All right." Cossack smiled again. "Tell the good billionaire that I'm looking forward to it."

"I will." Corbun promised. "See you later, Sergei."

"Stupid freakin' gorilla…" Mega Man muttered, kicking the remains of Charge Man's bodyguard before walking into the engine room. The Robot Master stood with his back to him, working on a control panel; his structure made it impossible for him to sit in the engineer's chair.

"You made good time in getting here. Very efficient. I approve." Turning around, he glared at Mega Man. "Still, let us waste no more time here. We both know what you are here for. Shall we get on with it?"

"Sounds fine to me… all the customary banter gets on my nerves sometimes anyways!" Mega Man yelled as he fired a charged shot. Charge Man made no move to dodge; instead he bent his knees and then dashed forward, taking the hit head-on as he blasted across the engine room. Mega Man was unable to move in time, and Charge Man smashed into him, knocking him over and then trampling him.

"Ha… this will be over even faster than I thought!"

"Oh, you are SO going down for that…" Mega growled as he got to his feet. Charge Man smirked, unimpressed.

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we? That was only one of my attacks… I'm even nastier when I get a head of steam built up!" The trainlike Robot Master concentrated, and his metal hull turned a dark red. As he pumped his fist, the steam pipe on his head erupted with a whistle, launching lumps of red-hot coal into the air. One of them struck Mega as it fell down.

"Aich!" Shaking it off, he fired again. _All right, think , Mega. He looks to be another heavy one, so the Gravity Hold's likely to be useless… the Star Crash should be able to deflect the coals, but I don't want to chance it on that charge… the Power Stone, though… _His thoughts were rudely cut off as Charge Man blazed towards him again. With no time to think, he switched to his newest weapon and activated it instantly. Charge Man's cocky smirk disappeared and his eyes widened as what he had thought was a helpless target suddenly was surrounded by the three orbiting satellites of rock.

"What the he-oof!" One of the stones smashed into his side, and Charge Man went flying, skidded across the floor on his side and crashed into a wall.

"That definitely did the trick!" Mega Man crowed. "You've got a nice dent there!" He activated the Power Stone once more, and Charge Man grunted in pain. "Oops… TWO nice dents!"

"I'm not out of business yet!" Charge Man growled, struggling to his feet and turning red. As he pumped his fist, Mega Man activated the Power Stone a third time, and the flying rocks smashed into the hot coals as they emerged. Charge Man screamed as the blazing shrapnel bombarded him, and sank to the ground, groaning.  
"…Finish it."

"As you wish." Mega Man struck him once more, and the trainlike Robot Master's battered hull collapsed with a sigh of steam. Taking his weapon, Mega stopped the train, then frowned.

"Hm… no option to shut down all the robots in the area here. I can kill the ones on the train, but that's it. Oh well… without Charge Man's leadership, they're so spread-out that the UN should be able to handle all of them." He walked to the train's door and opened it. "Now, then. I've got a circuit plate to grab, and then it's back home."


	9. Chapter 8: Magic Plasma Marksman

**__**

Chapter 8: Magic Plasma Marksman

__

"All Maverick Hunters! According to reports, SIGMA has appeared in broad daylight and is currently engaging X and Zero! I don't know why he's come out into the open, but this could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to stop his latest plans before they even begin! Here are the coordinates..." -Maverick Hunter Alia, during the beginning of the Eurasia Maverick Uprising

Neither Proto Man nor Dark Man was present in the command chamber at the moment, leaving the two old human doctors to their own devices, and neither of THEM was much interested in conversing with the other. Instead, while Dr. Wily simply slouched in his cell, Thomas Light's eyes roamed the room, taking in every detail and looking for something, anything that could be used to his advantage. However, once one actually looked at the control chamber in detail, there really wasn't all that much to see. The twin cells at the back, of course, were not standard issue and had doubtless been added early for this purpose. Proto Man thought well ahead, it seemed, and had made sure to have those completed first, even though the same could not be said for the rest of the room, which was only partially completed; the walls were obviously under construction, with large missing segments of plating revealing gutted wiring.

The half-circle of computers that was the heart of the room was only differentiated by the one in Cossack's Citadel and every Skull Fortress-and most likely in the abandoned basement where Doc Man had lived, though Dr. Light had never asked-by the presence of two chairs instead of the standard one. The inclusion of Dark Man as a clear second-in-command had been Proto Man's only deviation from the overall pattern of Rebellions so far; there had been two masterminds with separate goals before, or one man being forced to take the heat by another, but that had been it. Dark Man's position was a new one, and doubtless a very dangerous one, although for all his time in the enemy stronghold Dr. Light really knew no more about the strange, dome-headed Advanced Robot Master than anybody else. As if summoned by the aged doctor's thought process, Dark Man entered the room at that moment. For a moment, Dr. Light was surprised; the base of the dome that served as Dark Man's head was blank, showing no signs of ever having supported his blazing golden eyes. After a second, though, he heard the blood-red Robot Master yelling, and realized that the dome had simply swiveled around to glare at somebody behind him in the outer hall.

"And make sure it's built EXACTLY to the specifications!" Dark Man hollered. "We're not exactly going to be able to give it a test run!" The door shut, and his eyes turned back to the front. "Ugh, I hate dumb construction 'bots. If either of you two has any old Guts Man models lying around, I would really appreciate borrowing them right about now."

"Ah… sorry, no." Dr. Light replied mildly. Dr. Wily merely grunted.

"Figures." Dark Man muttered sourly. "Oh well, it was worth a shot." Grumbling to himself, he sat down in his usual seat.

"I assume my son will be along shortly as well?" Dr. Light inquired.

"He'll be here when he wants to. You just sit quiet and be a good caged monkey." Dark Man replied.

"Call from the master." The computer informed him in a dead monotone.

"Huh!" Dark Man yelped, surprised. "A call from… the boss? That's… unusual…" He flipped a few switches and pressed a few buttons. "All right, put it on." There was a moment's pause, a crackle of static, and then Proto Man's voice came from a speaker.

"How are things going, Dark Man?"

"Well… we're trying, master." Dark Man replied nervously. "But, well, four of them are dead…"

"I know, fool." Proto growled. "I know all about that. It means nothing. Continue with the current plan. How is the fortress?"

"Nearly completed, sir." Dark Man answered with a tiny note of pride creeping into his voice. "All that's left is this tower… it should be done within a day or two."

"Good… even if the other four bungle things as well, that should still give you time to prepare for his coming." Proto Man admitted. "Well done. And the… prisoners?"

"They're still here, of course." Dark Man continued.

"Good. Remember, keep Tom in fairly good health… I may need him later. And make sure he knows nothing more than he has to."

"Got it." Dark Man confirmed. "What about… uh… Wily?"

"Oh, he doesn't matter quite so much." Proto replied, sounding amused. "Just don't… kill him."

"I'll make sure not to." The dome-headed Robot Master confirmed. "Anything else, boss?" Proto Man was silent for a moment, apparently thinking.

"Oh, yes. About that little thing with the nukes..." Dark Man took a step back. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. This time, I'll let it pass; they're not really my style anyways. But try anything like that again, and I'll send you right back where you came from, and I'll do it piece by piece, as painfully as possible. Am I clear?"

"Cuh… crystal, boss." Dark Man stammered.

"Good. I'll be in touch." There was another hiss of static, and then silence. Nervously, Dark Man glanced at the computer screens around him.

"Looks like nothing's wrong here… eh?" He stared at one screen. "What's going on here, now? This isn't one of our territories…"

"What is it, then?" Dr. Light asked, curious.

"Someplace in Africa…" Dark Man replied absently, not turning away. "This screen's programmed to scan the news for anything that might be of interest to us… but it's not very sophisticated, so it almost never has anything useful-AHH! Oh, SHIT!" He jumped to his feet, swearing like a sailor. "No, no, no, no, NO! What is he DOING? This is very, very bad!"

"Is there a problem?" Dr. Wily inquired mildly.

"Shut up! No time to banter with idiots!" Dark Man yelped, more to himself than to either of them. "Damn it, WHY? Why NOW? He's avoided this so far, why did he have to… no! No time to ask questions either! Got to move, NOW, before the UN or Mega Man get there first, or everything will be ruined!" He made an obvious effort to compose himself. "Computer, drop teleport shield!"

"Acknowledged." The computer informed him. Instantly, Dark Man melted into a beam of blood-red light, teleporting away to the location of whatever he had seen that had disturbed him so much. Had he remained in the room for just a bit longer, however, and looked around just a bit more, he would have seen something else that would have added to his tension of the moment. Dr. Thomas Light had been staring at him carefully, his eyes narrowed in thought, and remained staring at the place where he had stood even after he was gone.

"Something up, Tom?" Dr. Wily asked, glancing over at his fellow prisoner. But Dr. Light didn't respond; he simply crouched on his cot, mind racing.

"Halfway done." Mega Man sighed as he sat in an armchair in Dr. Cossack's living room. "Problem is, maybe it's gloomy, but I get the feeling that none of them so far have been the real bruisers."

"Well, you HAVE fought your share of tough guys over the years." Roll reminded him as she flipped through channels on the television idly. "And it's too much to hope for to think that Blues just picked a team of wimps. If none of the four you've taken out so far seemed like a match for, say, Ring Man or Bright Man, let alone Pharaoh Man…"

"They haven't." Mega shook his head. "Any of those three could have taken Star Man, Gravity Man, Stone Man or Charge Man down. Admittedly, our current benefactor's much better than US's designers, but still. No, I think the majority if not all of the four left will be tough nuts to crack."

"Probably, but what ya gonna do about it?" His sister shrugged. "At least this way you have a good supply of Master Weapons to take against them when the time comes. Speaking of that, when do you suppose the UN will be calling again?"

"Who knows?" Mega shrugged back. "They normally time their calls pretty punctually after I wake up from stasis and a repair job… Vinkus has probably seen it enough times to tell them how long that takes… but it's been a couple hours now, hasn't it?"

"Guess they just decided you deserved a break after doing this much." Roll guessed. "Wait, these are politicians we're talking about. More likely, all their meeting chambers collapsed simultaneously and they're waiting for the repair squads."

"Now that is an unfair stereotype against politicians, young lady." Dr. Cossack chided, smiling, as he walked in. "Probably true, though." He added.

"Hiya, doc." The Blue Bomber greeted him. "Kalinka still asleep?"

"Yes, she's sleeping late." Cossack nodded. "She isn't taking this well, I'm afraid." Roll didn't respond, continuing to flip channels. "But we must move on, nonetheless."

"Yeah." Mega agreed, smiling as Rush and Eddie bounded into the room behind the doctor. Rush immediately ran over to have his ears scratched, while Eddie simply glanced around the room. "Let me guess, Ed. You couldn't get on the train."

"Beep." Eddie nodded in agreement.

"Well, the others should be accessible to you." Mega predicted. "Wonder which one I'll be hitting next… or should I say, which one the UN'll send me after next."

"Well, Wave Man and Crystal Man aren't really huge problems at the moment." Cossack reasoned. "They could cause big trouble if let go for extended periods of time, but in the short term, they're not as hazardous as Gyro Man and Napalm Man."

"And Napalm Man's about as bright as a frozen waffle… so it'll likely be Gyro Man." Mega predicted.

"Never mind Gyro Man… look at THIS!" Roll suddenly broke in, eyes glued to the set. Mega and Cossack both immediately turned to look as well. It was a news broadcast, showing a ruined town that was about half-swallowed up by jungle foliage… some place in either South America or Africa. What appeared to be an angry mob was the main point of attention, the camera following it from above… helicopter, most likely. The mob's attention was focused on one short man… no, it was a young teenager, clad in red and grey…

"No way…" The Blue Bomber breathed. Roll was silent, as was Cossack as he too saw the oversized sunglasses, bright yellow scarf and familiar face of the mob's target.

"…Positively identified as Blues "Proto Man" Light, the first Robot Master ever created and the apparent force behind the latest, Fifth Robot Rebellion…" The announcer was droning. "Although the media's attention has only been recently called to this, apparently this event has been going on for several hours now…"

"What is he THINKING?" Roll muttered. "He might be insane, but he's never been an idiot… and not even he's a match for THAT many humans by himself. There's got to be hundreds of them!" That realization had apparently struck Blues as well; the cocky sneer he had so often adopted recently was gone from his face, replaced by confusion and a stark fear that spoke all too clearly of the knowledge that if he was caught, his metal body would be torn to shreds.

"He'll try to get some distance from them first…" Cossack guessed. "Then once they can't see him at every moment, he'll find someplace to hide…"

"Why doesn't he just warp out?" Mega muttered. "Is his teleport device damaged?"

"Authorities are uncertain as to why Proto Man has appeared in the open in this manner…" The announcer continued. "United Nations forces are even now being dispatched to take him into custody…"

"THAT's why they haven't called me!" Mega yelled, slamming his fist into a coffee table. "They've been focusing on THIS! They want to apprehend him themselves, and they don't want me having anything to do with it! Where is it… come on, where is this going on…" His sister turned to stare at him incredulously.

"You're not thinking about going there, are you?"

"I'm not THINKING about it, I'm going to do it." The Blue Bomber replied angrily. "The UN decided to keep me out of the loop on this, but I'm going there anyways and if they don't like it, sucks to be them. I'm NOT just sitting here doing nothing. I have to talk with Blues, before it's too late… I don't know what he'll do when I get there, but it'd be better than what would happen if the UN troops get there."

"But if they apprehend him, wouldn't it stop the Rebellion?" Cossack reasoned. Mega snorted.

"Not happening, doc. For some reason, Blues is by himself now, but if an army of UN troops gets near him, the rest of his subordinates will join him there no matter WHAT he's told them… and then we'll have a slaughter almost as bad as all of the deaths so far combined. No, I have to get there first, and head that off… no matter what I have to do. Come on, you dumb newsies, where is it…"

"As far as we have been able to gather, the scene began when Proto Man walked into the city of Khouribga." The announcer answered. "It is uncertain what his intentions were, but upon the mob's formation, he stole a motorcycle and fled northwest, to the ruins of Casablanca…"

"Casablanca." Roll snapped her fingers. "That's in Morocco… Africa!"

"I'm off, then." Mega put his helmet on. "If the UN calls, give them my regards… and the finger, while you're at it." In a streak of bright blue light, he was gone.

Nearly forty years ago, in 2040, the dreadful Third World War had ended. The Second Rainbow had been founded to restore the nearly-destroyed planet. And while its achievements pulled the planet back from the brink of death… it could not restore everything. Even now, many cities that had been highly populated before the war remained nothing but ruins and rubble. Las Vegas, one of those in the United States, had been seized by a Robot Master named Spark Man during the Third Robot Rebellion, and Mega Man had gone to the wreckage of the once-famous city to destroy him. Now, spurred by a necessity even more vital than that had been, he returned to another city that was now home to nothing but the past. Casablanca, in Morocco, had even had a famous movie named after and set in it during the twentieth century. But that was before the war that had reduced it to a cluster of empty, uninhabited stone shells, overgrown and choked by jungles that had halfway erased thousand of years of human civilization in less than half a century. The street Mega Man appeared in was deserted; there was not a single sight nor sound of Proto Man, or of the mob that was chasing him.

"Damn." The Blue Bomber shook his head. "Got to hurry up and find them, fast… eh?" He frowned and examined the ground more carefully. Casablanca was not heavily populated, obviously… and yet, the ground was covered in footprints. Recent ones. "They went past here. I just have to follow them… damn, I wish Rush had his Jet mode…" Running down the path, he followed the footprints for several minutes, until in the distance, he heard the sound of angry yelling… a lot of it. "There's the mob… and it sounds like they haven't caught him yet." Abandoning the footprints, he ran in the direction of the sound. "I just have to get there first!"

"Easier said then done, hero!" A familiar voice yelled from behind him. Mega Man half-turned, then winced as plasma bullets burned into his back. Dodging to the side, he looked around angrily, and soon found his attacker. Standing on a mostly intact roof, Dark Man glared down at him from a sniping position, the massive cannon of his right arm smoking from the barrel.

"So you're here too, huh?" Mega Man smiled coldly. "Nice to finally meet you in person. I'd love to stay and chat with you, but I'm afraid I don't really have the time right now. I kinda need to have a little family discussion with my brother. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh, I do. Don't worry." Dark Man would have smiled back, had he a mouth. "And I'm sure you understand that it's MY job to do whatever the hell I can to keep you away from him. I don't know what my master's doing here, but I'll be damned if I let you through to him without a fight!" The cannon fired again, releasing a stream of small plasma bullets. Diving aside, Mega ducked into an alley.

"Dammit… of all the times to get ambushed…!" The Blue Bomber growled, pondering his options. For a moment, he considered running again… but then he shook his head. He would just lead Dark Man right to his master, and the two of them together would obliterate the mob. The second-in-command had to be neutralized first, and quickly, so that he would still have time to get to Proto Man before the UN did. Turning back, he saw that the enemy Robot Master had not moved; he remained standing on the same roof as before. "What is he doing?" And then, impossibly, he felt the searing pain of plasma again… in his back. Whirling around, he scanned the alley frantically. Nothing was there… but on another rooftop, a good deal away, Dark Man stood. "What the… how'd you get THERE?"

"Ha ha ha! Surprised, Mega Man?" Dark Man called. "You can't run from me… I'll find you no matter where you run!" As if to drive the point home, he fired another burst of plasma bullets. This time, Mega watched them closely. As they neared him, pain struck his back again. Yelling, he slid under the first series of shots as they blasted past, splattering against a wall. Turning again, the Blue Bomber saw Dark Man behind him on a roof once more.

"Instantaneous translocation!" Mega's eyes widened. "This is impossible!" Teleporting took time, and was clearly visible; that was obviously not what Dark Man was doing. And yet, there was no means to explain his movements in any other physical law. "How are you…?"

"Call it magic, if you want." Dark Man shrugged. "It's unimportant. You can't hide from me, Mega Man. No matter where you go, I'll hit you!" He disappeared, and again the plasma bullets zeroed in on the Blue Bomber, who activated the Star Crash to ward them off.

"This won't work forever, though…" He realized. "Got to beat him, and fast! I'm just glad he can't charge his shots, it looks like…" The long, narrow permanent barrel on Dark Man's right arm was different from an ordinary Buster, and Mega was willing to bet it held some capabilities he hadn't seen yet. For the moment, though, the "instant translocation" was enough to worry about. "This can't be magic… there's no such thing. Don't try to run away… just figure out how the trick works." Getting close to Dark Man seemed like the best plan…

"Using a shield? That's not fair at all!" Dark Man's voice suddenly boomed from behind him. Mega Man turned, startled, then grunted as the dome-headed Robot Master's single hand smashed through the Star Crash and grabbed his arm. A moment later, his pain sensors erupted as Dark Man flipped him overhead and brutally slammed him into the ground. Forcing the pain aside, Mega activated the Power Stone. The heavy stones slammed into Dark Man's body, and he jumped away to a rooftop, growling. He fired again, and this time Mega was unable to move fast enough to dodge.

"What's your beef anyways, you lunatic?" Mega yelled at him, wincing and preparing for the next sniping. "Why the heck are YOU doing all this? My brother I understand, and the others are just reprogrammed, but what's up with YOU?"

"My story?" Dark Man chuckled. He relaxed his arm gun and stopped firing for the moment. "I'm not really that sure about it myself. To be honest, I don't really have anything against humans myself, as a general rule. That's not to say I LIKE them; it's more indifference. Really, I know only two things that matter. First, I owe my master big; I will do anything and everything he commands me too. WHY I owe him is something you don't really need to know just yet, if at all. And second, I know that I… hate… you. Maybe that was implanted in my mind when the master reprogrammed me… but I doubt it. It seems too natural… too much a part of me, of who I am. So there you have it. As long as I'm fulfilling those two desires… to serve my master, and to make your life miserable… I don't care WHAT else happens! To me, to you, or to the entire goddamned WORLD!" Laughing, he resumed firing.

"This is so NOT good." The Blue Bomber muttered, sliding away from the fire and draining the E-Tank he had acquired at Stone Man's. "Not good at all. How did he get behind me so fast… it's almost like…" Slowly, his eyes narrowed. "Almost like Doc Man…" His colors shifted to purple and white, and he turned the Gravity Hold upon the Robot Master standing on the roof several buildings away. There was absolutely no effect whatsoever; in fact, Dark Man showed no signs of even feeling it. There was, however, a slight thud down the street, around a corner. Turning it, Mega saw nothing there. He smiled inwardly. _Just as I thought… and I almost fell for it._ Silent, he watched Dark Man on the roof disappear again, and he waited for the bullets to come… but this time, right as they made they hit him, he whirled around and fired a charged shot back. Not at Dark Man on his roof, but at the empty air where the bullets had turned. And to his satisfaction, the result was a pained grunt.

"Got you!" Mega yelled triumphantly as he crouched to the ground and slid forward, his colors shifting once more to a salmon pink and white. But that wasn't all that changed; he blazed along the ground with twice the speed, and his leading foot was covered with a blazing spearhead of energy. He hit the empty air where he had fired before, and with a cry of pain, Dark Man appeared, falling over.

"How did you… know?" The dome-headed Robot Master wheezed.

"I've fought a guy with tricks like yours before." Mega Man growled. "His name was Doc Man."

"Doc Man?" Dark Man turned his head around to stare at him. "I… never heard of him…"

"I would have thought your boss would have told you… he helped me kill him." Mega informed him. "And he apparently taught you how to pull the same tricks. That 'you' on the roofs was never real, was it? Make yourself invisible, then project a show to keep my attention distracted… some means of throwing your voice, too, then make up a story about how you keep moving around so fast while all you're doing is following me around and shooting me in the back… illusion of you, illusion of sniping." He chuckled disdainfully, glaring down at the Robot Master sprawled in the dirt below him. "You're no magician. You're just a damn HOLOGRAM USER."

"You… you're unbelievable." Dark Man said after a moment. "Now I know… why my master is so fixated with your defeat."

"I guess you do." Mega nodded. "Too bad you won't be living to see if he does it. Any last words?"

"You can't be serious…" Dark Man laughed. "You don't actually think that was enough to bring me down? And more important… you don't actually think I'm still here, do you?" The Blue Bomber blinked, then cursed as he swept a foot through the image of the Robot Master. Nothing. Down the alley, another Dark Man appeared, this one holding something that glittered in its single hand, something that he tossed at the Blue Bomber. "I will concede today's fight to you… and give you this, as your spoils for defeating me… but I'm not done with you yet by a long shot! We'll meet again, Mega Man!" Both Dark Man shimmered and vanished. Mega Man caught the small, coin-sized object Dark Man had tossed to him… the fifth stolen circuit plate… then slammed his fist into the wall.

"He got away…"

"Who got away, bro?" An exhausted voice asked. Mega slowly turned around. There, standing alone at the other end of the hall, wearing torn street clothing and a confused frown… was Proto Man.

"So, you've actually been building this for about a year now?" Dr. Corbun asked his friend, gazing around at the nearly-completed building around him. Mr. X polished his sunglasses, smiling in pride. They were at the scene of the billionaire's secret project, and were aiding the building crew. It was mostly made up of construction robots, but here and there was a human for tasks too complicated or vital for the simple-programmed 'bots. Mr. X and Dr. Corbun were giving directions rather than actually laboring, but they DID both have bright yellow hard hats.

"Indeed I have… and now it will be used for a much grander purpose than simply being the legacy of a foolish old man."

"Amazing…" The british Doctor whistled. "Did the government complain much?"

"Once I promised that all the weapons systems would be removed, they agreed easily." Mr. X smiled a bit craftily. "I don't think it even reached Darwin at all… which means he'll be just as surprised as anybody else, come opening day."

"And isn't that a shame." Dr. Corbun grinned. "This is awesome, my friend… especially this hall right here. Where ever did you find them all?" The billionaire's smile grew impish.

"Let's just say you'd be amazed what you can find on E-Bay."

"Very funny." Dr. Corbun snorted. "Now, seriously."

"Some of them, as you'll recall, I asked YOU for about a year back… inactive models that had never even been completed." Mr. X explained. "I did the same with Thomas and Lighttech. The rest… I hired a professional sculptor. Those ones aren't even actual robots… they're just dummies. But they all LOOK very impressive, don't they? Enough for our purposes, at any rate?"

"For the opening, since we're on short time, maybe." Dr. Corbun thought for a moment. "After this whole mess settles down, though, you might want to look into hiring either Lighttech or my own company to make some actual replicas. They might not be anywhere near the real thing, but they WILL be robots… and considering what this place is…"

"I had not thought of that." Mr. X admitted. "You'd think I would, what with everything I've picked up hanging around roboticists like you, Tom and Sergei… and Al."

"You've been paying attention?" Dr. Corbun asked, surprised. "I thought you just tuned us out when we talked robots, like Vinkus does."

"Not my style, my friend." Mr. X chuckled. "No, I've paid attention every time. Quite interesting, really."

"You don't say." Dr. Corbun smiled, interested. "Ever considered trying to build one yourself? A Robot Master, I mean?"

"I've considered it." Mr. X admitted. "But I've been busy with this. Perhaps after it's done, though… well, we'll see." The British roboticist nodded.

"It's not like you'll have any shortage of knowledgeable buddies to call on for help if you need any."

"True." Mr. X agreed, stroking his beard. "Well, that's for after this is done. Do you think we'll be able to finish it in a couple days?"

"Oh, absolutely." Dr. Corbun assured him. "This is remarkable progress considering we're keeping everything completely under wraps. It'll be done in time, no worries."

"I hope so." The billionaire sighed. "Then we just have to figure out how to talk Darwin and the rest of the United Nations out of tearing it down right away."

"Oh, Vinky wouldn't do that." Dr. Corbun assured him, twitching his mustache. "He might throw us in the overnight lockup, but he wouldn't shut it down."

"Very funny." Mr. X rolled his eyes.

"I thought so." Dr. Corbun's smile faded. "Seriously, though, I don't think we have to worry. Despite his normal beliefs and actions, Darwin does seem to understand the necessity of putting a leash on anti-robot sentiments at the moment, and he'll know this will do that. And if HE wants it to happen, then he'll be able to talk the rest of the UN into letting it pass one way or the other."

"Perhaps." Mr. X murmured, watching a passing construction robot. "I just hope this positive change of opinion towards robots in him lasts, and does not leave him once the Rebellion is over."

"You hope so too, eh?" Dr. Corbun agreed seriously. "I think it has something to do with Tom's children… he doesn't seem to look at them entirely as robots anymore, and I think that's a step forward." The billionaire nodded.

"Indeed… and I hope he continues to take more steps forward now that he has taken this one, until he no longer hates robots simply for being robots. Otherwise…" He fell silent.

"Otherwise?" Dr. Corbun asked after a moment.

"Otherwise…" Mr. X sighed. "Otherwise, I'm afraid he will take steps backward instead… and in the end… become something I would rather not think about. I saw men like that in the Third World War… far too many of them, and often closer than I now wish, through dealings that I regret even more. And I pray with everything that I have, everything that I am, that Darwin does not end his life like that."

"I won't argue with you on that one." The British robotocist murmured. "He and I don't get along a lot of the time… but he's still a friend, and in at his core… hopefully, a more decent man than any of us know, even him. Because the alternative to that… is not one I care for any more than you do." Neither of them spoke for a few minutes after that; they simply watched the construction robots continue their work. Finally, Dr. Corbun sighed and stretched. "Well, this dreary talk isn't getting anything done. We should get back to work on this."

"True, true." Mr. X straightened his hard hat, and the two men walked off to another room in the building. "So, you think we'll be done soon?"

"Tomorrow." Dr. Corbun assured him. "If we all work our tails off, that is. You might have to pay the building crew a little extra, but…"

"But I can afford it." Mr. X finished, smiling. "Very well, then. We set our sights on finishing tomorrow… and then the next day… we open."

"We might have to consume some truly staggering and probably hazardous levels of caffeine, but we'll do it." Dr. Corbun agreed happily. The two men bent over a diagram of one room that Mr. X pulled out of a briefcase and began arguing excitedly over minor details on it, and before long the depressing conversation had been completely forgotten by both of them.

"Proto." Mega Man muttered, turning to face him.

"What are you doing here?" Proto Man muttered, starting to walk towards him. "Never mind that, I need your help. My warp generator's damaged, there's a bunch of crazy humans trying to kill me, and… WHOA!" He stopped instantly, and for good reason; Mega had pointed his Buster at him, and was clearly holding a charged shot.

"Not going to be THAT easy, bro." Mega shook his head. "I've had my fill of unpleasant surprises for today, thanks."

"Rock…?" Proto Man held up his hands. "Okay, let's… let's just calm down here. Look, I don't even have my Buster armed. I don't know what you think I was going to do, but it's not happening now, okay?"

"So you say." Mega growled. "But for all I know, you've got some new weapons installed that you don't need your hands for… or maybe you've got some more buddies like Dark Man lurking around here somewhere. Forgive me if I don't take any chances, Proto."

"Can't you at least call me Blues?" The eldest child of Light asked. "I don't call you Mega while there isn't a Rebellion going on, is there?"

"Exactly." Mega nodded. "And whose fault is that, eh, PROTO?" Proto Man's face appeared to scrunch up in confusion, then realization.

"What… oh, no. Another Rebellion? Whose strings is Wily pulling this time, bro? And why the heck would it make you consider shooting ME?"

"Wily's not pulling any strings this time." Mega shook his head. "Kinda hard to do that from the jail cell wherever you're keeping him… or did you forget you already showed me that?"

"…" Proto Man stared at him for several moments silently. "…I get it. It's me this time, isn't it… I'm the scapegoat here. THAT'S why the mob was chasing me. And somehow… they've even got you bamboozled again."

"You always were bright, bro." Mega Man smiled coldly, acting far more confident than he felt… if his brother WAS the enemy, he couldn't let down his guard for even a second. "Except now, it seems. Nice try playing innocent… but having absolutely no idea what's going on? Yeah, right. If you really were just being impersonated… you would have known. This Rebellion isn't exactly a government secret… everybody knows about it. And you, who found out about Wily's being behind the Fourth, didn't even know a Fifth Rebellion had started? I don't think so, big bro."

"Rock." Proto Man started to back away. "You're… you're starting to worry me here. You know it's Wily… you know it's a trick. It always is. It's always Wily."

"You're going to have to think up of something better than that to fool me again, Proto." Mega took a step forward, slowly advancing on him. "For a while, I wasn't sure… I think I was the biggest holdout except for Kalinka Cossack. But now that I've come here… this entire thing with the mob was just a trick, wasn't it? To get me to fight your little sidekick, then you. Except I didn't fall for it… now, YOU'RE the one who's trapped."

"…Rock." Blues backed away. "Look, what do you want? You want me to come back with you home? I'll do it. You want dad and Cossack to go over my CPU, make sure nothing's messed up in there? I'll do it."

"You'll come, huh?" Mega muttered, pausing. "Just like that?" 

"Yeah. I'll even let you tie me hand and foot." The eldest son of Light continued. "Whatever you want. Think, Rock. Have there been deaths in this Rebellion? Human deaths?"

"Yes…" Rock's eyes tightened. "Far too many."

"Then if I was behind it, I would have to have broken the First Law." Blues reasoned. "But you knew I was here… so you saw me RUNNING from that mob, right? I never once shot at them while doing so… not a single bullet. I could have whittled them away while keeping out of reach of the mass… if I didn't have the First Law."

"You… didn't." Mega whispered. "You never hurt… anybody here." His Buster began to lower…  
"Oh, I don't know about that…" A third voice growled from the side. Too slow, Mega whirled around as Dark Man tackled him, slamming him at a speed that should have been impossible. The force of the hit carried them both forward into a ruined building… but even as he went in, Mega Man heard the discharge of a charged plasma shot, something he knew very well. He had not fired… and there was only one Robot in the World who could charge plasma. Mega Man's eyes hardened as he grappled futilely with Dark Man, knowing that any minute, he would find himself double-teamed.

"HERE HE IS, GUYS!" A rough voice bellowed from outside. Suddenly, Mega Man heard the yelling of the mob start again, this time much closer. They had found Proto Man once more.

"Get out of here, boss!" Dark Man yelled. "I'll keep him off you, you just run from the humans!" Neither him nor Mega Man used their plasma; they were too close for that. Mega could have used a Master Weapon, of course, but he chose not to; there was no point. Instead, they both simply battered each other with their fists, both knowing that neither of them would do anything significant. Proto Man was already gone again.

"Why not just go out there and kill them?" Mega growled. Normally, the First Law would have paralyzed him for even saying that, but this time, it didn't… his anger overpowered it. He was furious at Proto Man, at Dark Man…and at himself, for being tackled so easily even though he had known what the dome-headed Robot Master could do. "The two of you should be able to handle them…"

"My, my, the little hero actually suggesting that we kill humans?" Dark Man mused. "You ARE angry… but even though I'm not in danger of actually dying, I'm still too badly damaged from my little scrap with you already. SOME of us don't always carry an E-Tank. At first I came here to protect Master Blues… but now I see that he came to these ruins on purpose. Here, he'll be able to escape the mob, even if he couldn't in a populated area or on the open plains." Seeing an opening, Mega Man kicked him in the side, and the two Robot Masters separated.

"You idiot, Dark!" A voice that tore at Mega's soul yelled from a distance. "I would have hit him if you hadn't done that!"

"Sorry, boss!" Dark Man yelled back. "My bad!" The dome-headed Robot Master got to his feet, unconcerned, and regarded the stricken Blue Bomber calmly. "I DO wish he had told me about this plan of his… but sometimes being the second-in-command is like that. Now that you didn't fall for it, though, he'll probably find some place to hide and then call me to help him out… that's if his teleport generator really IS damaged. If not, he's probably already gone. I'll just go look for him, then. See you when it's time for a rematch!" He bowed and disappeared; some time after they had separated, he had slipped away and left a hologram in his place once again. Bellowing in rage like some Norse god, Mega Man slammed his fist into a wall again… this time, hard enough to rip his own glove and synthflesh, and leave a dent in the weathered stone. Numbly, he stared at the coolant trickling down the appendage.

"It was all lies… he was just trying to get me to let my guard down. It really IS him… it's not a lie, it's not a fake. That was Blues… no… Proto Man forever, now." He shook his head to clear some of the fog. "At least they'll be out of here before UN soldiers show up…" He muttered, trying to cheer himself up. It didn't work. Giving in, he just teleported away, leaving the ruins of Casablanca behind him, and steeling himself for the future.

For now he knew… he was going to have to kill his brother.


	10. Chapter 9: Sky High City

**__**

Chapter 9: Sky High City

"I'm sorry, master, I'm-UGH!" Dark Man's plea cut off as he was slammed into the wall with enough force to cause him to actually rebound limply off of it, only to be sent into it once more by a roundhouse punch. Rubbing his knuckles, Proto Man strolled over to his fallen underling.

"You incredible, indescribable, incomparable, incomprehensible IDIOT!" Proto Man bellowed, slamming a foot down onto Dark Man's domed head. Slowly, he began to grind his foot into it. "I HAD him! I would have PEGGED him if you hadn't decided it would be a good idea to TACKLE him! 'Oh, master Proto Man, you're in trouble! Oh, master Proto Man, let me save you!' MORON!" He grabbed the limp Robot Master by his collar and dragged him upright. "I should kill you right now. I really should. See if you can convince me not to. Give me a reason I shouldn't rip out your robotic guts, here and now. Or I will."

"Because…" Dark Man croaked. "Because… I am still… of use to you. Because… I still fight for our cause." Neither of them moved. Then Proto Man nodded and released his underling, letting him drop to the floor.

"Get up. You're not really hurt." He commanded, turning around and walking towards his monitor. "It'd take a lot more than hand-to-hand combat… even from me… to cause you any serious problems. Well, unless you were in a boxing match with a Guts Man or something, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, boss." Dark Man stood up. "I know. So… now what?"

"Well, since that idea of mine was bungled thanks to you…" Proto Man muttered, not bothering to raise his voice again. "I suppose we're back down to the original plan. Hope my brother gets pounded into a fine pulp while trying to stop one of the remaining four. And if that doesn't work, invite him here so WE can deal with him. How's the construction going on this place, anyways?"

"Didn't you already ask him that?" Dr. Light reminded him. "On a call?"

"Oh…" Proto Man frowned. "Yeah, I… suppose I did, at that. Huh. My bad. Thanks, dad." He shook his head, apparently to clear it. "Right then. It'll be done in time, so… no need worrying about that. How are the other four doing?"

"Well, Gyro Man's holding down the fort…" Dark Man shrugged. "That place wasn't as useful as we though it would be, originally, but such is life. Crystal Man and Wave Man continue to ship supplies of Energen crystals and water to us. As for Napalm Man… I've been kind of afraid to look."

"Kind of like being about to turn around the corner to see your house and hearing on the radio that some maniac's blown the damn thing up?" Proto Man suggested mildly. Dark Man nodded.

"Pretty much, yeah. Do we want to look now and get the massive brain damage over with?"

"Not yet." Proto Man decided after a moment. "I'm still a little high-strung and irritated over that whole ruining-my-brilliant-plan-to-take-out-Mega-Man thing, and if I'm confronted with his idiocy again, I might start tearing large chunks out of the walls… or out of Wily." The mad doctor showed no reaction at the casual threat of horrible maiming, as usual. Proto Man growled and walked over to the cell, where he began rattling Wily's bars. "Hello! Did you hear that, you old cockroach?"

"I heard it." Wily replied in a dead voice. "What's your point?"

""My point?" Proto Man seemed to blink incredulously for a moment. "Oh, I'll give you a point, all right…"

"Leave him alone, Blues." Dr. Light interrupted. "You've already done enough… to all of us."

"Interesting thing for YOU to say, dad." Proto Man turned to his father. "You, sticking up for HIM?"

"Maybe I'm thinking about the Third Robot Rebellion right now." Dr. Light replied coolly. "You know, the one where he was pretending to be sane, and Doc Man was the one sending robot masters out… you remember, of course?"

"Of… course." Proto Man agreed after a moment. "Yeah… I remember." He turned away from the doctors. "At any rate, Napalm Man can wait. We'll check on him again when I'm in a better mood. Right now, how are you doing, Dark? I assume you engaged my brother in a fight when you came blundering into things back there?"

"Yeah." Dark Man admitted.

"So?" His master pressed. "How did it go?"

"He beat me." The dome-headed Robot Master shrugged. "Of course, I wasn't using all of my tricks, and I got out of there before I was ever in any serious danger. Still, though, the point's the same; he won, I lost."

"Not good." Proto Man mused. "Which abilities of yours DID you use? That is to say, which ones does he know about?"

"My normal plasma cannon, of course…" Dark Man seemed to make a wincing motion with his eyes. "And… well… he found out about the holograms, boss."

"Damn. There goes your biggest advantage, right out the window." Proto Man turned and began pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. "It's not a total loss... You've still got your feet and that second function of your cannon that he has no knowledge of. You're not completely screwed. Still…" He stopped. "Dark Man, I think I was wrong about you. You don't deserve punishment… as a matter of fact, for your exemplary loyalty, I'm going to give you a reward. You're getting upgraded again."

"A… another weapon?" Dark Man's eyes glowed. Proto Man grinned.

"You got it! I've got an idea with plasma technology I've been kicking around with for a while. I'm not entirely sure it'll work, to be honest, so this might be a waste of time… but if it's not, it could be the most dangerous weapon in your arsenal." He paused. "Of course, we're not just going to add it into your systems straight off… no, too dangerous."

"Then…" Dark Man's eyes flashed a second time. "We're going to build… another Sentinel?"

"Bingo." Proto Man gave him the thumbs up. "A third one, for the third ring, just like the other two. Then you can wait up with me at the tower top too, instead of at the bottom. It's a win-win situation."

"A Sentinel?" Dr. Light inquired, curious. "What's that? Is that like a Fortress Guardian?"

"Kind of." Proto Man grinned wider. "In some ways. But in others… far, far different. Dark Man, why don't you show dad the ones we've already got?" Dark Man nodded, and pressed a couple of buttons. Two doors in one wall that had never opened before suddenly jerked apart, and Dr. Light stared at what was behind them, completely taken aback for the first time since his abduction.

"What… what in hell!"

"So it was just a trap for you?" Roll said incredulously. "He put himself in that much danger, just for THAT?"

"Yeah." Rock nodded. "Obviously, more than a few of our brother's brains have become unhinged, it seems. One thing did come out of it… well, okay, more than one. I got another circuit plate back, trashed Dark Man-even though he got away-and found out what his fighting style is. But most importantly… I found out that it IS Blues. I saw him with my own eyes, and heard him take a shot at me. If it wasn't for Dark Man jumping the gun I might not be here right now."

"Oh, come on." His sister scoffed. "One charged shot wouldn't have killed you."

"Maybe not, but it would have knocked me down." Rock explained. "And then the two of them would have jumped me. That's not a pretty picture."

"Indeed it is not." Dr. Cossack agreed sadly, putting the last of his tools back. "At least you are still in one piece. Yet you now believe it confirmed that your brother is, in fact, the enemy?"

"I can't afford to hesitate like that again." Rock snapped his helmet on. "I just can't, or next time I won't be so lucky. Next time… next time I see Blues, face to face… I'm going to take him down. No matter… what it takes." Even Roll was startled by this declaration.

"You mean… you're going to kill him?"

"…" Mega Man didn't respond.

"Incoming caaaallll!" Bright Man sang. "Guess who it is!"

"Not now, Bright." Dr. Cossack muttered. "Just put the United Nations council on, please."

"Well, fine!" The rotund orange Robot Master huffed. The screen on the wall sprang to life, revealing the familiar councilors' faces. This time, though, they did not wear their carefully prepared smiles for cameras and speeches. This time… they looked angry, even Martel.

"Mega Man." The presiding councilor greeted him coldly. "We believe you have some fairly significant explaining to do."

"On what matter, councilors?" Mega replied just as frostily.

"Your recent excursion to Casblanca." Martel snapped. "Taking part in United Nations activities that we did NOT invite you to, and ruining our operation there without our consent." Mega's eyes narrowed.

"That event in Casablanca was a PERSONAL activity on my part, councilors. I didn't see a UN trooper the entire time I was there. I only went there for one thing; my brother."

"Ah, yes." Martel raised an eyebrow. "I do believe you have agreed to place yourself under our command for the duration of this Rebellion, and for all concerned events. Why, then, did you depart on Rebellion business without inquiring with us first?"

"I place family on a higher priority than orders, councilors." Mega informed them. A few of the councilors began murmuring in outrage, but Vinkus shushed them, and Martel continued on as if he had not heard.

"You mean to say, then, that you consider your personal beliefs more important than the safety of the world?" The white-haired councilor inquired. Mega sighed somewhat theatrically.

"Not really… and besides, that wasn't the only issue here. You gentlemen probably didn't know this, but ANOTHER Robot Master named Dark Man, Proto Man's second-in-command, was ALSO lurking around those ruins. And I found out there that the entire thing was just a trap to begin with. A TRAP, Councilors; mainly for me, but I have no doubt that had your soldiers gone there, they would have been massacred. I HAD to go; the First Law demanded that I do so, in order to stop your boys from being KILLED, Councilors." None of the UN Councilors responded to that at first; finally, Martel cleared his throat with an odd look on his face.

"Very well." He harrumphed. "So long as you can promise us that this will not happen again, I think we can drop this incident here and now, and get on with more important business."

"Councilors, you have my word." Mega Man inclined his head. "The word of a Robot Master… if that means anything anymore."

"It does." Vinkus broke in. "Believe me, young Rock… it does." Martel turned to glance at him with partial irritation, but not full, then turned back.

"Ahem. Now for the real business of this call. With the… ah, incident… obviously over, you may now return to recovering the captured territories?"

"Fully repaired and good to go." Mega Man assured them. "So, which one is it going to be? Wave Man? Crystal Man? Gyro Man? Napalm Man?"

"Gyro Man." Martel told him. "Just in case you've forgotten, he's situated in a high-altitude weather observation platform in Nigeria. He's been using it to take control over every airborne broadcast within a thousand miles, and the situation is no longer endurable. Bring him down, Mega Man."

"I will." Mega promised again. "Is there anything else, Councilors?"

"Actually…" A Councilor who hadn't spoken to them ever before suddenly smiled nastily. The plaque on his desk announced him as Louis Arcian, of France. "I do believe that neither you, Mega Man, or your sister, Roll, have submitted your registration forms yet… or gone in for testing."

"Registration forms?" Roll yelled, outraged.

"Indeed, robot." Arcian smirked. "All Robot Masters are now required by law to do so. And unless I miss my guess, you two are in fact Robot Masters, normally denizens of Japan."

"Considering the current situation, I think we can forego the extensive testing for now." A British female Councilor suggested. "Rock Light IS sort of necessary at the moment, after all, and I believe his sister is constantly needed to aid in repairing his injuries." Arcian scowled, but reluctantly conceded.

"Very well… but the law DOES stand clear. Register, my friends, or you'll be in violation of international law… and that would mean… consequences."

"If you're quite done, Councilor Arcian…" Martel rolled his eyes. "Very well, then. You have your orders. Carry them out." The screen died.

"I… HATE… politicians!" Roll growled. "What's next? Dog collars with ID tags at all times?"

"We'll figure something out." Mega assured her. "For now, though, I need to go see Gyro Man."

"Yeah…" Roll's anger dropped instantly, replaced by concern. "Be careful, bro. Even if Corbun didn't build him, he's designed purely as a warbot. AND he's flying. He'll be nasty."

"I know…" Mega shrugged. "Nothing I can do, about it, though. Just wish me luck."

"This reminds me of Air Man's place…" Mega Man muttered, glancing up at the platform's edge looming far, far overhead. "Natural, I suppose… windy Robot Masters seem to have the need to announce their style as ostentatiously as possible. Not as much as Wily and his Skull Fortresses, though." A massive structure that towered a good mile above Nigeria, the mechanical platform that was now under Gyro Man's control had been built for the purpose of observing weather patterns. Even today, meteorology was a highly imprecise science, and a stationary point high above the clouds themselves was thought to be a great boon to the field. As a place to attack, however, it had almost no value. Mega mused about that as he stepped onto an elevator that would take him up onto the platform itself. "Wonder why exactly Proto Man had him take this place... Sure, it fits his theme, but there are more valuable places that do that…"

"Ah, the motives of rulers are vast, wise and indecipherable, aren't they?" A speaker crackled. "Even back in the old days of human kings, you never knew when you'd get your head chopped off on a whim! Whee!"

"Gyro Man, I presume." Mega glanced up at the speaker calmly. "You sound like you're having fun here."

"Oh, I am, I am!" Gyro Man assured him. "Being a general in a robot army is great! Oh, the wages aren't much, and quite frankly the retirement plan isn't even worth mentioning as long as YOU'RE around… but the benefits are beyond belief."

"I'll bet." Mega smirked. "Well, don't get TOO comfy… because as soon as I see you, I'm ending your career."

"Oh, is that so?" Gyro Man replied, sounding amused. "Why don't we get right down to it, then? Turn around, hero!" The Blue Bomber turned instantly. On the other side of the thick glass wall, Gyro Man was flying upward at the same pace as the elevator, cheekily waving. Yelling in surprise, Mega jumped back, and the green Warbot began laughing.

"Ha ha ha! Oh, man, the look on your face! Classic!" Gyro Man's voice continued from the speaker while outside, the Robot Master made rude gestures. "But seriously, I just wanted to say hi. If you really want a shot at me, you'll have to go through the army just like everybody else. But I will have a little bonus for you! Check out what my buddy Crystal Man found and sent me!" He opened his other palm, and Mega Man's eyes widened. In his enemy's hand was a crystal the size of a small fruit, colored as green as his armor.

"A… green Energen Crystal! But that mine's only for blue ones!"

"Hey, I don't know where he got it from. Apparently, it was just on site." Gyro Man shrugged theatrically. "The point is, I've got it… and you will too, if you can take it from me. See you at the top!" Doing a midair somersault, he blasted off into the clouds. Sighing, Mega Man drew a hand across his face.

"Honor student of my brother's, that one… annoying as hell, and thinks he's funny. But I have to get that crystal… if I can, Rush's Jet mode will be available again." The elevator dinged as it arrived, and Mega warily stepped out, looking for an ambush. Gyro Man was nowhere in sight. "Maybe he was telling the truth about waiting for me… or maybe he's just lurking over the edge of the platform. I'll have to be careful." Blasting a stationary cannon, he began jumping across a series of large machines. Unfortunately, the elevator that would have taken him to the section of the platform designed for human use was out of order. This side was solely for maintenance robots, most of them flying, so the designers hadn't taken the time to make it easily traversable for somebody who didn't have that advantage. Thankfully, though, they had at least left ladders to climb up the vertical sections. "I would have been sunk without these, since I don't have Rush's jet mode YET." The Blue Bomber muttered, dodging a mindless spiky drone. "Definitely need that crystal. Haven't been using Rush as much this time around… wonder if that's because Proto Man's robots have weaker base designs, or if it's because I'm better than I used to be."

"My guess is neither!" Gyro Man yelled, flying high overhead. "You're just being stupid!" Mega calmly took a pot shot that missed by a wide margin, and the green Warbot flew off again.

"That guy is really starting to annoy me." The Blue Bomber grumbled, clambering up another ladder. "Aw, no, not AGAIN…" The small catwalk's sole occupant was a third of the gigantic purple humanoid robots, and up here there was no room to dodge it. "What to do… oh, I know…" Stepping to the edge of the platform, Mega calmly waited as the giant bounded towards him. As it landed, massive feet hitting the metal straight in front of him, the Blue Bomber moved forward in a salmon-pink blur. The Charge Kick slammed into one leg and knocked it off balance, and with a despairing roar, the monstrosity tumbled forward off the platform. Mega Man watched him fall for a moment, then shrugged and continued climbing.

"He'll make one hell of a big crater when he lands… just hope he doesn't hit anything important." He looked up ahead. "Oh, THIS looks fun…" Spanning a very wide gap was a long, narrow bridge built out of small, loose-looking blocks. On a hunch, Mega tossed a small piece of broken machinery from nearby onto the first of those blocks, and after a moment, the block fell down into the chasm. "Yeah… falling blocks. REAL fun. Oh well, could be worse… at least it's not one of Wily's disappearing block puzzles." He slapped himself. "No, stupid, don't talk about them or he WILL put them in."

"Talking to yourself?" Gyro Man called again. "First sign of insanity!" This time, Mega didn't even bother shooting; he just kept one eye on the flying Robot Master in case of an attack while using the other to spot enemy robots as he ran across the bridge. "Oh, by the way, I left that circuit plate master Dark Man gave me on that bridge somewhere!" THAT caught Mega's attention. Looking around frantically, he saw the circuit plate lying harmlessly… on a block he had just stepped on. Cursing, he dived for it, switching weapons as he did.

"Damn, damn, damn… I hope this works, or I'm toast…!" Even as he began to fall, he scooped up the circuit plate with one hand and fired something from his Buster with his other. Immediately shifting it back into a hand, he frantically grabbed at the Super Arrow he had created, praying that Dr. Corbun had designed it strong enough so that its flight path would not be deterred by his weight. "Come on, come on… yes!" The arrow flew straight and true, and Mega was able to actually climb on top of it, riding it almost like a poor man's Rush Jet over the no-longer-dangerous bridge.

"HEY!" Gyro Man screamed. "You can't DO that!"

"Watch me." Mega Man shot back. "You want to do something about it now, or wait until I get to the top like you said?" For a moment, it seemed Gyro Man was going to dive at him, but he seemed to gain control of himself in time, and the green Warbot angrily flew off. Mega permitted himself a small chuckle as he jumped off his ride.

"Heh… it's not Proto Man, but that still felt good. Oh look, another elevator. Pity there's nobody around to make a bet with on if this one's got traps. Wonder where Eddie is…" Muttering to himself, the Blue Bomber continued walking.

Dr. Cossack's castle was in many ways a bleak place to call home. In truth, less than a quarter of it was actually meant for human habitation these days, and that portion lay at the center. The rest, halls and walls, had been remodeled into four rings of robot-filled security measures during the Fourth Robot Rebellion, to protect the Doctor for when Mega Man came knocking, believing him to be the mastermind behind the latest threat to world peace since Dr. Wily's apparent death. Afterwards, Cossack had repaired everything in order to make sure Wily never got into the castle or harmed his daughter, Kalinka, ever again. Her safety was never far from Sergei Cossack's mind now; even though it had been years since her abduction, he rarely allowed her to leave the castle at all, and absolutely never unaccompanied. Kalinka Cossack was at an age in which she felt these restrictions even more keenly than she had before… and because of that, certain actions on her part were not only probable, but guaranteed.

"Yes!" The human girl whispered to herself as she crouched in a corner near the back door in a rear hall. "Dust Man's on duty at the lab… Bright Man, Ring Man and Drill Man are patrolling the walltops… Toad Man and Dive Man are fixing a problem in the sewer systems… Skull Man is making a check on the robots in the Third Ring… and Pharaoh Man is talking with father! They're all occupied!" Minimizing the status report on the Robot Masters, she opened another window, this one showing the patrol schedule of the robots in the entrance hall. It would be tight, but there was a ten-second window in which none of them would be observing the stretch between her corner and the door. Unlike the massive front gateway, this door was often used by robots switching between indoor and outdoor patrol, and so its use would not garner attention. There were more robots outside, of course, but they would have gaps in their patterns as well. They always did, and Kalinka's time spent with Blues Light had taught her how to spot them. Seeing her opportunity, Kalinka made a dash for it and darted through the door. There was no outcry as she emerged into the light snow outside. "Yes! Success!"

"Success in what, miss Kalinka?" A polite but firm voice inquired, and Kalinka suppressed an urge to scream in rage. Turning around, she saw Pharaoh Man leaning against the wall.

"You…" She growled. "You KNEW!"

"Not entirely, but I saw your actions and guessed at their meaning." Pharaoh Man shook his head. "You should know, miss Kalinka, that no matter what our schedule SAYS we are doing, at least one of us is always aware of your activities."

"Shut up!" Now Kalinka did scream, as she hurled her minicomputer at the Robot Master's head. It bounced off ineffectively and fell to the snow at his feet. "Who told you you could do that? Who said I was accountable to YOU?"

"Your father, that is who." Pharaoh Man picked up the minicomputer. "He has instructed us in this manner, and we are bound to obey his will."

"The Second Law." Kalinka sneered. "That's right. No matter how human you look, you're just machines."

'Precisely, miss Kalinka." The Egyptian-themed Robot Master nodded, unruffled. "I am a machine, and so are my compatriots. Thus, your insults and distaste do not mean much to us. They are pointless, and I would appreciate it if you would discontinue them… if you do not mind, of course."

"And if I do?" Kalinka shot back. "I don't like you. I don't like ANY of you, and that's not going to change." Pharaoh Man raised an eyebrow.

"Because we are Robot Masters?"

"Exactly."

"But Blues Light is also a Robot Master." Pharaoh Man reasoned. "Yet, you surely do not dislike him?"

"Don't compare yourself to Blues." Kalinka snarled, enraged anew. "He's different… he's more human than you are. He has emotions… feelings… he doesn't just blindly follow orders! And don't even THINK about mentioning the Rebellion, because I DON'T want to hear it from YOU!"

"I understand." Pharaoh Man shrugged. "It is not as if I have much to say about Blues Light and the Rebellion anyways."

"You don't?" Kalinka's voice quieted a little. "You're not going to use blind reason to try and convince me that it's really him, like Roll did?"

"Roll Light, like her brother, is more human than I am." Pharaoh Man explained. "I am a simple robot. It is not my place to decide such things. That is for humans and the more advanced Robot Masters."

"Is it now…?" Kalinka murmured. "What if I was to order you to make a statement about your feelings on the matter?" Pharaoh Man winced visibly.

"I would appreciate it if you did not do so, mistress Kalinka." Kalinka shook her head firmly.

"Tough. Third Law. I order you to talk."

"Then…" Pharaoh Man spoke slowly, one word at a time. "I do not… believe that the appearance… of Blues Light behind this Rebellion… is exactly conversant with previous… interaction with him."

"So YOU don't think it's him either!" Kalinka crowed.

"If that is what it comes to." Pharaoh Man shrugged. "I am a robot, of course, and despite my relative sophistication I am highly fallible. I could very well be wrong."

"Who cares?" Kalinka laughed. "At least SOMEBODY else is on my side! Do all the others think the same?"

"I… believe their thought processes… are quite similar to mine." Pharaoh Man admitted. "Of course, their programmed personality situations may alter that in some of them… Dust Man is gloomy, and Skull Man dark, so…"

"That still leaves most of them." Kalinka dismissed that. "Maybe you guys have your uses after all."

"Perhaps so." Pharaoh Man seemed to hesitate. "Mistress Kalinka… may I ask you something?"

"That depends." She smiled; her anger had cooled by now. "Well, I suppose I DO owe you one for that… all right, ask away."

"Why did you attempt to escape?" The Egyptian-themed Robot Master inquired. "There is nothing around here for miles but snow and wilderness, and no vehicle to carry you."

"Maybe I like snow and wilderness." Kalinka sighed. "Truthfully, though, I wasn't planning on going very far. I just wanted to get out of the castle for a while. I can't spend all my life in there… sometimes I just need to get out, see something else than the same old walls all the time. It's almost like dad's keeping me imprisoned… although I doubt he'd like that analysis. And I doubt you understand what I'm saying at all, so…"

"On the contrary." Pharaoh Man denied. "Among the things your father programmed us with is a rudimentary knowledge of human psychology. Skull Man is really the most knowledgeable on the matter, but I understand enough. If you wish, I will speak with your father on the matter. I must confess that I doubt it will do much good, but I can try."

"I… I'd like that, Pharaoh." Kalinka nodded, surprised. "Thank you." She paused. "Is your understanding really just knowledge of human psychology? All of it?" Pharaoh Man's face grew uncomfortable again.

"I… cannot say for certain, mistress."

"What's it like?" She pressed, suddenly interested. "Being a robot, I mean? No emotions, no feelings?"

"It is…" Pharaoh Man's eyes dimmed. "I do not know… I have never experienced any other existence. However… that is not entirely a correct analysis. The Lights… Rock, Roll and Blues… all have emotions and feelings. Perhaps, someday, I will as well… Blues Light has expressed his beliefs on the matter to me several times. Although, of course, I will never be able to perfectly match humanity's capacity for emotion, any more than they can."

"What do you mean?" Kalinka frowned. "Blues seems perfectly human in his emotions to me!"

"No robot can be perfectly human." Pharaoh Man explained. It might have been Kalinka's imagination, but his voice seemed… sad? "This is not their own fault, but a simple physical fact. We are mechanical, and there are some things our bodies cannot do. For example, a robot's most overwhelming rage will be blunted instantly if it turns against a human… even the Lights must obey the First Law. And no matter how much grief a robot feels, he cannot cry. Tear ducts, like sweat glands and other exterior body liquids, were deemed unnecessary in the first Robot Master designs by the Doctors Light and Wily, and such has remained so since."

"No tear ducts…" Kalinka marveled. "I never knew, Pharaoh. Not that you've had much to cry about, yourself…"

"No, my existence since being rebuilt has been relatively admirable." Pharaoh Man gave her a strange look. "Others, however… well, I would suggest you examine them more closely. With all due respect, of course, Miss Kalinka."

"Of course." Kalinka nodded. "Well, I can't say I'm happy that you caught me, but there's no helping it now. Let's go back inside."

"Very well." Pharaoh Man followed her inside, and locked the door behind them, while outside, the countless security robots continued their endless patrol through the Siberian snow.

"Thanks for the energy, Ed." Mega Man patted the small suitcase robot on the head. "I needed it." Eddie beeped happily and departed, and the Blue Bomber walked past the smoking wreckage of the last cannon to enter Gyro Man's door. On the other side of it, he emerged in a room with high walls, but no ceiling-or if there was one, it was completely obscured by the massive cloudbank that hovered eight feet above the floor. Mega Man glowered at it, waiting for his foe's appearance. He didn't have to wait very long.

"Oh, I come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs blooooooow!" Gyro Man bawled as he blasted out of the cloudbank like a cannonball. The mighty rotors on his back slowed and stopped, and he landed perfectly on his feet two feet away from the Blue Bomber. He winked. "Hammer of the gods."

"Nice introduction." Mega Man drawled, golf clapping. "Do you even know who sang that?"

"Humans." Gyro Man shrugged indifferently. "I don't bother differentiating between them. I just heard it on one of the radio waves, and I liked it."

"Does it do anything for your sense of premonition if I tell you it was Led Zeppelin?" Mega Man continued dryly. "If _I_ was a flyboy, that wouldn't be my choice before a fight."

"Premonition, shmemonition." Gyro Man laughed. "I don't care. Only things I care about are flying and fighting… oh, and irritating people. Can't forget that."

"I suppose not." Mega Man rolled his eyes. "Well, this is all very fascinating, but shall we get on with it? I've still got three more of your pals to waste after I finish with you, and that's not even counting your boss and his shoeshine boy."

"Oh, sure. No problem at all." Gyro Man drawled sarcastically, but then his eyes sharpened. "I was built to fight… to kill. You came into those abilities late in your life. The difference should be obvious!" Laughing like a maniac, he hurled himself into the clouds once more. "How can you hit me if you can't even see me? Answer me THAT, Blue Bomber!"

"Ask your buddy Stone Man! Or better yet, kiss his weapon!" Mega yelled back, activating the Power Stone. The three rock satellites spun around into the clouds, but there was no sound or sign of impact.

"HA!" Gyro Man laughed contemptuously. "You call THAT a weapon! Those suckers are so slow, they couldn't hit a half-dead duck! THIS is a weapon!" The clouds parted, and out of them came a flat green propeller blade… ridiculous looking, but as Mega Man dodged it, it ground into the metal floor.

"Damn…" The Blue Bomber muttered. "It's like a shuriken… like Shadow Man's!"

"TOLD you I was built to fight!" Gyro Man laughed from above. "And don't even think of hiding behind that Star Crash… my toys will slice through them like a knife!" He threw several more Gyro Blades, and one of them gave Mega Man a cut on his shoulder. He swore again.

"Power Stone and Star Crash are no good… neither is the Charge Kick, obviously… and the Gravity Hold'd do nothing! Looks like it's plain old plasma for me…" Aiming his Buster upward, the Blue Bomber began firing randomly. Not charged shots, but smaller bullets at a high speed.

"Ooh, that smarts!" Gyro Man taunted. "But this is nothing, Blue Boy! You'll take all day to wear me down by dumb luck like this!" To emphasize the point, the next Gyro Blade took a slice out of Mega Man's leg.

"This just isn't working!" The Blue Bomber muttered. "But none of my Master Weapons can… wait!" _The Gravity Hold… it focuses on a target by linking with my brain. Like Dark Man, as long as I THINK of Gyro Man, I don't have to SEE him! And every battle room so far has been the same, so maybe this one DOES have a ceiling! It's worth a shot!_ Selecting the Gravity Hold, he activated it.

"Now what are you… HEY! WHAT THE HE-" Gyro Man's astonished yell was cut off by a sickening thud. A moment later, he fell out of the cloud bank and smashed into the ground. Mega smirked.

"Well, what do you know. Looks like you've just been grounded, flyboy."

"You stupid…" Gyro Man growled, struggling to his feet. "I'll carve you to ribbons!" Without warning, he hurled a Gyro Blade from a wrist launcher. It only nicked Mega Man's side as he dodged, but his eyes narrowed.

"I'll make you pay for that."

"I'll KILL you!" Gyro Man howled in return, and the Blue Bomber smirked once more.

"Try it." Charged blast and Gyro Blade flew. The former hit dead on, but this time Mega Man easily hurdled the spinning propeller. Gyro Man stared, stunned, as he landed and released a Power Stone, immediately following with a Charge Kick. Both hit, and Gyro Man went down again. Mega Man stood, turned, and activated the Gravity Hold… not once, but multiple times, lifting the fallen Gyro Man up faster and faster each time, until he heard the crunch as the green Warbot hit the ceiling twice as painfully as the first time. Again he fell to earth, but now he fell a broken wreck. His prized back propeller was a mangled mess, and one of the fans had been completely lost.

"You…" He whispered as he fell. "You… fly higher… than I ever could. Even higher than… master…" And then he hit the floor, skidded into a wall, and spoke no more.

"I have to, Gyro Man." Mega muttered, extracting the weapons chip. "I said that myself to Wily… and it still holds true. I always have… and I always will." Looking around, he soon saw the green Energen Crystal on a desk with a computer. "And now… I can truly fly again. Fitting that the flying Robot Master is the one to grant me that… and a fellow fighter. Sleep well, soldier."


	11. Chapter 10: Surfin' 20XX

**__**

Chapter 10: Surfin' 20XX

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"That's right, nephew. Your new doggy is now a fully functional water craft. Next time you see some water, give it a shot. It's not like you need to worry about drowning." -Dr. Albert Wily, during his period of feigned sanity in the Third Robot Rebellion

"Why is it that there's ALWAYS one who uses a bladed weapon?" Roll complained. "Other similarities hold true, yes, but not in every single Rebellion! First Cut Man, then Metal Man, then Shadow Man, then Ring Man! Nothing personal, Ring." Ring Man, currently on comm duty, nodded. "And now Gyro Man. Do you think we LIKE fixing up big slash wounds? Do you, bro?"

"Yadda, yadda, yadda." Mega Man rolled his eyes. "Do YOU think I LIKE being cut up by these things? No. But I always come away from them in better shape than my enemy, and I'd say that counts for something."

"I'm just saying, you'd think you'd have learned to dodge those things better by now." Roll sighed. "Oh well. At least you've found an E-Tank or two in case of emergencies by now… right?"

"I had one, but I used it up fighting Dark Man." Mega admitted. "I haven't found any others… which is strange, since they're usually lying around. And now that I think about it, resistance hasn't been as strong as it used to be, either. Oh, the Robot Masters themselves are about average, but their armies are… well, kind of puny compared to previous ones. Add those two facts together, and it seems whatever options Wily always used to fund his insanity aren't open to Proto Man."

"I can think of a dozen theories to explain that, and none of them have anything to back them up." Dr. Cossack shrugged. "I wouldn't complain about it."

"I'm not… just something to note." Mega stood up. "How's Rush doing?"

"With Roll helping me, I believe we can install the green crystal… but since my skill is second to Tom's, I will need more time." Cossack apologized. "The Rush Jet will be ready by tomorrow, but for today, he will be unable to help."

"I'll live. It's okay, doc." Mega assured him. "Better wait for the UN's call, then… don't want to irritate them even more now, even if I'm fairly confident about who they'll sending me to."

"Wave Man?" Roll guessed.

"You got it. Unless Napalm Man has his act together. Barring THAT, it'll almost certainly be Wave, Crystal, Napalm… and then I get to settle this permanently." Mega's eyes hardened.

"Proto Man, you mean." Dr. Cossack sighed. Before Mega could respond to that, Pharaoh Man burst into the room.

"Your brother is on the television again!" He announced. Mega, Roll and Cossack all jumped, then ran for the living room.

"-so vote Proto Man for overlord of the human-free empire in 2077!" The shades-wearing maniac was grinning broadly as they entered. "Now that we've gotten THAT out of the way, congratulations go out to my opponent. Just wanted to let you know, Rock, that both me and Dark Man are completely recovered from that little scrap in Casablanca, and we're REAL anxious for a rematch. Still, good job on taking out four of my generals so far…"

"Four?" Cossack frowned. Onscreen, Proto Man had fallen silent as Dark Man leaned onscreen and muttered something.

"Oops! Make that FIVE!" Proto Man held up a hand with all five fingers spread out. "Gyro Man too, huh? You're still in fine form, little bro. But don't get too cocky; still three left." He dropped the hand. "Now then, let's introduce our special guests on today's show. First up, we have the creator of my own species, the greatest robotics genius the world has ever known, and a dandy Mall Santa too. Some people call him Dr. Light, some people call him Tom, but I just call him my dear ol' Dad." The camera swiveled to point at Dr. Light's cell. All three viewers were relieved to see that Dr. Light was not much the worse for wear, despite his incarceration; he was filthy and unwashed, and had bags under his eyes, but that was about it. "How you doing, pop? Got any words for the people out there in TV land? For a few special viewers in particular? Come on, anything you want! We won't mind!"

"Is that so…" Dr. Light murmured. "Well then… Rock, my son. Keep fighting. I live here knowing that some day soon, you will come. You have defeated this madman before… you can do so again."

"When was that?" Roll wondered.

"Third." Mega reminded her. "Back when he was Break Man… I was whomping the hell out of him on a regular basis."

"Oh yeah."

"Well, wasn't that nice." Proto Man smiled. "Words of encouragement. Good, dad, good; keep these doomed humans' spirits up. It'll make the hunt more entertaining. I'll have Dark Man cook up an extra portion for your rations tonight. Now then, here we have guest number two. He's tried to conquer the world four times before I did, failing miserably at each one. He's been profoundly loathed by everybody, even his own family, if you can call them that. Let's hear it up for my "Uncle"… Dr. Albert William Wily!" Now the camera showed Wily, whose body was easily in a worse state than Dr. Light's, with several large bruises in various places. "Talk, Wily, or I'll make you. I'm sure you can think of SOMETHING to say."

"…Yes, I believe I can." Wily's eyes glittered. "The same thing I always say. Give up, everybody. This time, you've lost. You can't beat him, Mega Man… for even if you destroy all his followers, you will never be able to kill your brother. But he CAN kill you, and he will… and with Mega Man's demise, the world shall fall as well. My only regret is that I cannot be the one to cause it… but even so, I shall rejoice in this planet's demise!"

"Got a bit of your old spunk back in you, do you?" Proto Man smirked approvingly. "Well, you did good today, so I suppose you can get an extra portion of dog food tonight too. Good for you. Well, that's all we have time for today, faithful viewers, but you never know when we'll be calling again, so keep your fingers off those remotes! I'll see you again, believe me!" The TV flashed, then returned to a news program.

"Well, that was uplifting." Mega smiled grimly. "I'm sure Proto intended Wily's little pronouncement to depress me, but really, both of them were encouraging. If that madman wants me to give up, I'm all the more ready to keep fighting."

"Excuse me, but Ring Man informs me that the United Nations are calling." Pharaoh Man reported.

"That'd be them telling me to head to Wave Man's." Mega shrugged. "Shall we go exchange pleasantries so I can get on with this, then?" Roll and Cossack both nodded slowly.

"I suppose…"

"Yes, let's go." The three of them turned and left the TV on, with its announcer still babbling incoherently.

"Hm… I'm actually inside the facility." Mega noted, looking around. "His warp shield must not extend through the whole thing… strange. Oh well, might as well start looking for him." He looked ahead at the hallway in front of him. Like on Gyro Man's platform, he was in a section not designed for human use, and so the designers had made no efforts to smooth out the pipes and tanks of water and treatment chemicals. Pipes of the latter had cracks in them that leaked spurts of the purple gas regularly. Mega winced. "Probably not a good idea to touch that stuff… I don't know what it is, but those look deliberately placed…" He frowned as he spied another defensive measure; large spiked chain clubs flipping back and forth, attached to the ceiling above each crack. "Yup. This won't be fun." He made it past first one, then two traps with carefully timed slides. On the third one, however, he slipped into the stream of purple gas. Yelling, he scrambled away; whatever it was, it burned like acid.  
"If it can do THAT to a robot, it's a damn good thing I'm not human." Mega noted, looking at the end of the hall. An apparently vacant pipe end gaped open before him, leading downwards. "This stinks of trap, but I don't really have any choice." As a precaution, he turned the Star Crash on before walking into the pipe. Instantly, he flew forward at high speed. The Blue Bomber swore; the pipe was greased, and he flew around and down turns and twists like a marble toy. In the end, the pipe dropped him unceremoniously a good ten feet above the ground below. Picking himself up off the ground, Mega hurdled a small buzzsaw-bot that crawled along the ground and continued on. Several more came his way over more gas cracks, but they were much more easily avoided than the chain clubs had been. Beyond them, he found something that confused him greatly; a pipe below him had six nozzles pointing upwards, and a waterfall raged along one wall. Aside from that, it seemed to be a dead end. Then one of the nozzles spouted a bubble the size of his head, which slowly rose. "A… bubble?" Another nozzle created a much larger bubble, at least four feet in diameter. Reaching out, Mega grabbed the first bubble, and was amazed by how it remained unpopped. "No way. Is this… bubble lead?"

Bubble lead was one of mankind's stranger discoveries; a chemical compound that formed in bubbles, as its name suggested. The strangeness came from its weight; on land, it was as heavy as the latter half of its name implied, but when underwater it was light enough to bounce and move easily. And in both cases, it was strong and thick enough to stop a plasma shot. But while there was a waterfall in the back, the Lead should not have been able to rise on solid ground. Squeezing the bubble he held in his hand, Mega blinked as it popped.

"Bubble Lead doesn't do that! Wait… does it…" He examined another bubble closely. It was hard to tell, but its lining seemed thinner than Bubble Lead was usually. "Aha. They found some way to make it thinner… then fill the bubble with helium as it forms, and it can rise, but still support… objects?" He blinked as an idea came to him. "Could it…? Well, only one way to find out…" Tensing himself, he jumped onto one of the large bubbles. It held. "YES!" He looked up. "NO!" Scrambling, he dived off the bubble before it hit the spike-bottomed ledge above. "All right… going to have to perform some quick jumping to get past all those. Too bad Rush isn't here." Experimenting, he discovered that the small bubbles would hold his weight, but only for about a second, while the larger bubbles would carry him for as long as he needed. It took a few tries, but eventually he made it all the way up. A pair of huge double doors awaited him, and through them, the Blue Bomber emerged into the outside world. To his sides, a tall stone wall swarming with robots separated him from the Himalayan mountains in the distance… and before him, like a massive mountain lake, was the main reservoir of water.

"Is Wave Man on the other side of that…?" Mega wondered. "And if so, how am I going to cross it? Aha!" Running to the edge of the reservoir, he discovered a small, green Waverunner waiting for him. Looking much like a motorcycle, the Waverunners were designed to cut across the surface of the water at high speeds. This one even had a plasma cannon on the front, which was fortunate, since Mega would need both hands to drive the machine. Hopping on, the Blue Bomber took off across the reservoir.

"Wave Man definitely put that there for me to use." Mega admitted. "Which means he wants my crossing the reservoir to be on HIS terms." Sure enough, he soon spotted robotic sea mines lurking among the waves, and avoided them. Unfortunately, they were not the only enemies; before long, pink robot dolphins began leaping at him in surprise attacks, and the Blue Bomber had to fire very quickly to take them out before they slammed him. And then, to make matters worse, a plasma shot grazed his head, and he looked behind him to see a green Sniper Joe on a purple Waverunner. "Aw, no… why one of THEM?"

Sniper Joes were a modified Lighttech line of robots. Originally the 12-KIF humanoid welder robots, they had a plasma welder for one hand that was easily altered into a cannon, and a huge plasma-proof welding shield. Even without the shield, they had thick armor, and their many variants had all caused Mega Man grief. The bike, now… Turning, Mega shot it three times, and the vehicle sank into the briny deep, taking its rider with it. But the Blue Bomber knew it would not be the last, and from that point on, he had to watch for Wave Joe ambushes as well as the dolphins and mines. All in all, it got pretty hairy.

"Having fun, Mega Man?" A low voice called. Looking around, Mega soon spotted one more green Waverunner like his, a goodly distance away. Riding it parallel to him was a blue and gold Robot Master. Wave Man.

"Oh, it's all right." Mega replied just as calmly, continuing on his current course. He knew he would be unable to get near the enemy commander, and wasn't going to embarrass himself trying. "So, then, do we duel on these things?"

"Oh, no." Wave Man laughed. "No, I just came out here to see how you're doing… and introduce you to somebody else who wants to see what you've got! Beat it, and there's a reward for you! Prepare for the terror of the deeps, Blue Bomber! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Laughing, he blasted across the reservoir. For a moment, Mega wondered at what he had meant… and then before him, the water began parting. He stared, openmouthed, at the sheer size of the purple, spherical metal mass that was emerging, crushing mine, dolphin and Joe uncaringly as it rose.

"Impossible…" The Blue Bomber whispered. "Nothing… nothing this big could swim! Not made of metal!" But the leviathan did not care. It rose, and nothing could stop it. The only break in the purple metal shell was a green crystal window, behind which Mega could see a subordinate Tsunami model… and then below the shell was a furious red face, with a six-foot cannon for its mouth. From that cannon, a blazing green blast emerged, and Mega barely jerked his Waverunner to the side in time to avoid it. "Geez… if I get hit head-on by that, I'm done for!" The Leviathan dropped again, going back to the depths… but only up to the green crystal, and then it rose once more. "Have to take out the operator, and fast!" The dinky plasma cannon on his Waverunner was out of the question. Running through his catalogue of Master Weapons, Mega decided on the best choice; his newest one. A Gyro Blade whirled through the air and stuck in the green crystal with an audible chink. Roaring, the Leviathan fired and dived. When it emerged again, a second Blade caught it as the first had. The third Gyro Blade caused cracks to be clearly visible in the window, and the fourth shattered it entirely. Mega saw the Tsunami model's frenzied expression for only a moment before the Leviathan dived again; apparently, that rising and falling motion was not controllable. This time, however, it did not come back up; it paused for a moment, then sank back to the depths from which it had come.

"Phew…" Mega wiped his brow. "THAT was a close one." Beyond it, he saw something strange; a buoy. Then he saw what was taped to it; the seventh circuit plate. Guiding his Waverunner to it, Mega snatched it off easily. His smile was cut off as he saw a brown streak of light descending. "Is that…" It was. Eddie beeped frantically as he appeared on the water's surface, struggling frantically to swim with his little legs for only a few moments before departing. Mega slapped his forehead, then smiled… and then broke out into peals of laughter as the mines, dolphins and Joes zeroed in on him once more.

"And make sure ALL of them help you do it!" Dark Man screamed at the comm. "Every ONE that has explosive or flaming capabilities! GO!" He killed the connection, angrily slamming his hand onto a button, then slumped in his chair. "I hate that robot. I really do."

"Hey, Dark. You call Napalm Man again to check on him?" Proto Man asked as he entered the command chamber.

"Yeah, boss." Dark Man passed his hand over what little face he had. "As usual, by the end of it I was ready to throttle him single-handedly, and for me that's physically accurate."

"What'd he do NOW?" Proto Man rolled his eyes behind his shades as he flopped into his own command chair. "Mistake his own base for the trees? Eat one of his bombs? Surrender himself into UN custody?"

"No, he was actually burning trees this time." Dark Man explained. "Problem was, he was only burning them with his own two cannons… not a single one of his army was helping him out."

"So?" Proto Man frowned, not getting it. "This is Napalm Man we're talking about here. Even if he has the IQ of a fermented eggplant, he's a one-robot army. And fire kinda, you know, spreads REALLY fast in a forest?"

"Yeah, I know, boss." Dark Man sighed again. "But we're not talking an ordinary forest here. The Treeborg plantations aren't natural growths; they were CREATED by the Second Rainbow after the Third World War specifically for the purpose of increasing the oxygen level of the planet, which was in grave danger after all the ecological damage in said war. And they needed a LOT of trees. The African forest is one of the largest, boss, and it's the size of several COUNTRIES. Not even Napalm Man can make more than a dent in that without help."

"Aha… now it makes sense." Proto Man shrugged. "Still, you told him to get his boys on track helping him, right?"

"As long as he doesn't get them to kill each other or something." Dark Man grumbled sourly. "I need some stasis time, boss. See you later." Continuing to mutter, he slouched out of the command chamber, leaving his master alone with the two old Doctors.

"Hey, dad." Proto Man called. "How you doing over there?"

"Not bad… all things considered." Dr. Light replied warily. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just wondering." Proto Man shrugged. "I wanted to thank you for playing along with my broadcast today. Anything I can do for you?"

"Well…" Dr. Light made an exaggerated thinking motion. "How about-"

"WITHIN reason." Proto Man snorted. Dr. Light snapped his fingers.

"Darn." Both of them chuckled for a moment. "How about a game of chess with your old man?"

"I… think I can manage that." Proto agreed after a moment. "I'll get a set… be right back." He left the room, and returned momentarily with the board and pieces, which he set up on the floor just outside Dr. Light's cell. The bars were wide-placed enough that the old doctor could reach through them to move his pieces. "You be white, and I'll be red, of course."

"Of course." Dr. Light smiled briefly. They made their opening moves in silence, and continued that way for the first few turns.

"This is fun, really." Proto Man admitted. "We'll have to do it again… it reminds me of… happier times."

"Back when we were all living at the house together?" Dr. Light inquired cautiously, not wanting to change his eldest son's current relaxed mood. "As a family?"

"Yeah…" Fortunately, Proto Man didn't seem to be reacting negatively to that. "A family. That's it, all right."

"I think of the same thing quite often." The old doctor admitted. "Of two times, really… the times with you and your siblings, and of those when it was you, me and Albert… you were the first to call him Uncle Al, you know."

"Uncle… Al. Yeah, I know." Proto Man agreed, absently taking one of Dr. Light's pawns. "He's not really my uncle, but…"

"But he might as well have been." Dr. Light nodded, knocking out the rook Proto had just moved. "The two of us were like brothers, and when you decided I was your father as well as creator, that progression was natural. Rock and Roll picked up on it the exact same way for the short time they truly knew him, even though they had never known you… some things just come naturally, I suppose." Proto harrumphed.

"What did Wily think about that, again?"

"He just kind of chuckled dryly." Dr. Light shrugged. "I don't know if he ever believed in the 'family' connection, although he certainly acted like he did during the Third. Maybe if he had had a robotic son or daughter of his own to call him 'father' before his insanity overtook him, he might have, but as it turned out…"

"I am right here, you know." Wily called from the next cell over. "You're talking about me like I'm not here, but I am."

"Shut up." Father and son replied simultaneously.

"Fine." Muttering, Wily sank back onto his floor.

"Yeah, he never really have a 'family' on his side, did he…" Proto Man agreed. "He built those 'bots in the Second, of course, but they were just dumb ones like my generals, so they don't really count."

"Well, there was Doc Man." Dr. Light watched his son's face carefully. It remained blank.

"Doc Man…" Proto murmured. "Yeah, him… but they were never close, were they?"

"We don't know." Dr. Light shrugged. "Albert never told us anything about him prior to his own madness…"

"Doc Man was crazy like his dad?" Proto Man muttered. "I… forgot that…"

"Of course he was." Dr. Light reminded him. "But not always… he only went mad following his first fight with Mega, in the first Skull Fortress. You weren't around then, so it's understandable that you don't know that, although I thought we told you."

"Maybe you did." Proto Man smiled a bit sadly. "My memories aren't what they used to be… especially about the Third. Maybe that means I'm as crazy as Doc Man was. I don't THINK I am, but you know what they say about never knowing. What do you think, dad? Do you think I am? Crazy, I mean?" His voice was oddly plaintive.

"I… don't think you really want me to answer that. Not really." Dr. Light said carefully. Proto Man sighed.

"Yeah, probably… no point in taking chances on spoiling a good game here. Let's play." After that, they continued the game in silence… but Dr. Light's eyes never stopped watching his son's expression.

"There." Mega smiled. At the far end of the reservoir, he had spotted a dock… and beyond it, a small shed with a familiar metal shutter. As further confirmation, another green Waverunner was parked there already. Pulling his own Waverunner up, he shut down the green machine and jumped off, then walked through the shutter, absently blowing away the single pitiful cannon that had been installed as a last defense. "All right, Wave Man. Let's go."

"So you destroyed the beast of the briny deep." Wave Man mused as he dropped down. "Not bad at all. But that's all you'll do; even though my allegiance has shifted, my duty is still clear."

"Oh?" Mega Man raised an eyebrow, charging a shot. "Allegiance shifting… that's a laugh. You were reprogrammed. You had no choice in the matter. You're just a poor, stupid dupe, like all who came before you. And what is that duty?"

"To protect this site from any and all intruders… something which you definitely qualify as! And there's only one penalty for that crime!" Wave Man slammed his left arm into the ground, and Mega Man fired his charged shot. It flew straight and true… and then to his shock, a geyser of water erupted from the ground in front of Wave Man, deflecting the shot. "HUH?"

"Ha…" Wave Man seemed to smirk. "Nice try, but useless!" The geyser dropped, and Wave Man brought up his right arm, releasing a harpoon that pierced the stunned Blue Bomber's arm.

"AAH!" Mega attempted to tear it out, but it would not come free.

"Fool!" Wave Man jumped into the air. Forcing himself forward, Mega Man slid under him. They both stood and turned.

"I don't know how you rigged this room to do that, but it won't work if we're not in the same places! That trick won't work against me!" Again Mega fired… and again, Wave Man brought up a geyser of water to block it.

"Trick? Ha… somebody's in denial." Wave Man sounded amused. "My Water Wave is my left arm's special power… my greatest one. If you could take me down, you'd understand it. But that's not going to happen! I bring it up, block your shot, then drop it when you least expect-" The geyser dropped, and another harpoon flew. "-And use my right arm to impale you!" For a moment, Mega stood frozen in fear… and then he smiled.

"You talk too much… a failing in my brother's servants." Three orbiting stones appeared around him and flew out, crushing the harpoon before slamming into Wave Man. "My Mega Buster isn't the only weapon I have."

"Ho ho… not entirely helpless after all!" Wave Man jumped, and again Mega moved. "This hunt may not be so easy as it first seemed…splendid!" They faced off once more. As Wave Man slammed his left arm to the ground, Mega activated the Power Stone a second time… but now, Wave Man's geyser rose directly in front of him, and the rocks were deflected by it as well before they hit him. "Use any weapon you wish… none can get through the waves to strike me!"

"But you have to drop them some time, don't you?" Mega Man guessed. "And when you do, I'll be ready." Angrily, Wave Man fired a harpoon and canceled the geyser. This time, Mega had the Star Crash equipped. _To be honest, I don't know if I can do this… but hell, it's worth a shot!_ Making a throwing motion, he willed the Star Crash to fly out, as Star Man's had. The harpoon bounced off the force field as it left him and slammed into Wave Man, knocking him on his rear.

"You…"

"I have more than one way to strike you down." Mega smirked. "And I've got you figured now. You tell yourself you're a hunter… you wait for your prey to expose itself, then strike at it. But when your enemy knows the nature of your defense, it can counteract it… and then, you can't do anything but hide futilely."

"Oh… is that so!" Wave Man climbed back to his feet and jumped once more. Mega dodged again, and Wave Man bent over… smiling. "You think that's all I can do? Fool! My Water Wave can attack as well as defend!" He laughed as the geyser erupted on the spot Mega Man had been standing. "Ha ha ha! Victory is-"

"I was waiting for you to do that." Wave Man's laughter cut off instantly as he saw his enemy rushing along the ground away from the geyser, colors salmon pink and white, with a spearhead of energy around his leading foot. The Charge Kick slammed into Wave Man's legs with full force. Screaming, the Robot Master fell forward over his adversary, feeling the life leave his lower body. Before he could even attempt to get back up, it was too late; the second Charge Kick took him in the back. Where his water tank was. The explosion augmented the damage from the first, and Wave Man was blown apart, torn in half at the waist. He only had time for one last, despairing scream before his systems shut down, leaving Mega Man standing ankle-deep in water before the corpse.

"And that leaves two."

"You nervous?" Dr. Corbun inquired. His compatriot nodded.

"A little, yes. How about you?"

"Nah, cool as a cucumber." The British doctor smiled.

"Then why are your hands shaking?" Mr. X inquired. Dr. Corbun shrugged.

"Too much coffee?" They both laughed. "All right, maybe I am. A little. What do you think the UN will do to us?"

"Hopefully, nothing permanent." Mr. X guessed. "I'm an old man, and I'd like to live out my remaining years in what health I have left. It most likely depends on how fast we talk, and how many people are behind us."

"True…" Dr. Corbun mused. "If we get enough popularity behind us, they might figure locking us up would do more harm than good. And there's Vinkus, too… no telling WHAT way he'll go these days. Oh well, there's no point in delaying it."

"It's time." Mr. X agreed. "Let's go." Stepping out through the large double doors, they walked to the front of the building, which was still covered in a tremendous tarp. Eight cranes surrounding the building held it, ready to raise and remove when the time was right. The crowd waited at the front of the building; aside from the expected news crews, many civilians had been drawn as well. In the back, several UN delegates-including Vinkus-waited apprehensively. Corbun and X stood in front of them, a microphone stand to each.

"Ladies and gentlemen." Dr. Corbun began. "I am sure you are all aware of the recent going-ons involving the Fifth Robot Rebellion. A war between humans and some of our own creations… a truly dreadful thing. Yes, my friends, I said some. Like the Robot Rebellions before, only a certain portion of our Robot Masters have been taken to rebel against us… some of which I myself labored over. However, many Robot Masters who live with us, work with us, walk alongside us daily, are as innocent of this as you yourselves are." He spread his arms expansively. "Robot Masters are here, my friends, and though their bodies are steel instead of flesh… they are still people. They are still beings who, even if they hold no LEGAL rights, at least hold the right to LIVE as much as any of us do. Despite every Rebellion so far, we still believe in the individual Robot Master's right to life. And it is right that we should, for the Robot Master is not just a hazard to our lives, but the opposite… a benefit. Many Robot Masters have worked their entire lives for the betterment of humanity… indeed, the original Lighttech Robot Masters were designed solely to help humanity recover from the effects of the Third World War… isn't that right, X?"

"You are correct, Trenton." Mr. X agreed. "And since then, most Robot Masters have been designed for similar purposes. Even if many of them are stolen and reprogrammed for evil purposes… some remain who are not, who are innocent, who wish only to help and to live." He sighed. "Sadly, many among us believe differently… or they do not care. In the wake of this latest Rebellion especially, we are seeing many otherwise decent men turn to violence against our mechanical brothers. Thus, we have concluded that something is needed to remind ourselves of the good that Robot Masters bring. Of their history, of their purposes, of their reasons for existing, and of how they still serve us. With my wealth, I have constructed this monument to our robotic sons, and with the help of my good friend, Dr. Corbun, we have completed it in record time." He made a signal with his hand, and the cranes activated, lifting the tarp. Behind the two men, the building was revealed; a three-story stone and glass monument, shiny and new, its name etched in metal above the entrance. Cameras flashed as the two men spread their arms in welcome. "Enter, friends, and be welcome… for this, the Xanthos Robot Museum is now open to all!"

"We have labored long and hard to bring this to you all today." Dr. Corbun continued. "Though the museum largely concentrates on Robot Masters, it covers the entire history of robotics within its walls… from the beginnings of the science in the twentieth century, to the horrors of the Third World War-ah, small children may be advised to avoid that exhibit-to the rise of the Second Rainbow, the greatest group of geniuses the world has ever known, and to present day, where Robot Masters are a way of life, thanks to the efforts of a family named Light. Our most spectacular exhibit, of course, is the Hall of the Robot Masters. There, you may gaze upon and learn about every Robot Master ever constructed… be they Lighttech, Wily, Sennet, Cossack, or U.S., all are there. Some of them may no longer exist, or indeed, only be present in one location other than here… but others may be seen walking down the street or riding the bus next to you the very next day. Come in, everybody, and see them here first for yourselves." He stopped talking and smiled as he saw the already erupting crowd suffer an even larger commotion in one spot… one moving spot. Darwin Vinkus was forcing himself through to them, face livid.

"Are you two INSANE?" He hissed once he had reached the stage. "A… a… ROBOT MUSEUM?"

"That's correct, Darwin." Mr. X smiled gently. "We thought it was appropriate… it demonstrates our species' need for Robot Masters and speaks for their defense quite adequately."

"You could have just given a speech to do that!" Vinkus growled. "Look at this! This is… the UN will explode! If this catches on, what do you think it will do to any more laws we try to pass?"

"Any more restricting robots, you mean." Dr. Corbun sniffed. "As long as you don't make them outrageous, then I don't see any problems. If you DO… well then, that's YOUR fault. We've done it, Darwin, and we stand behind it… and if we get thrown away in some cell, then so be it."

"I don't think THAT will happen." Vinkus appeared to be recovering his temper. "But I WISH you had told us more about this before actually doing it."

"Can you guarantee that the UN would have allowed us to complete it entirely unmolested?" Mr. X raised an eyebrow. Vinkus slowly shook his head.

"Well… no. But… oh, damn. You two have really done it this time… but I would have done the same in your situation."

"So you'll help us out?" Dr. Corbun asked. Vinkus covered his face.

"Yes. I'll do all I can, Trenton… and that starts with putting the best face on this as possible." He turned and took a mike. "Ahem… of course, the United Nations fully supports non-violent Robot Masters, and we extend our support to this museum. Let it be opened, then, and let all see the greatest achievements of humanity to date." Dr. Corbun and Mr. X stood beside him, smiling.

"If only Tom was here…" Mr. X sighed. "This is a proud moment for our little group."

"Let's just hope it's not the last one, eh?" Dr. Corbun winked. "Enjoy the moment, X. You've earned it." The crowd surged forward past the three men, eager to see what awaited them inside. In the minds of Mr. X and Dr. Corbun, the battle for the rights of Robot Masters was looking positive.

But in the mind of Darwin Vinkus…


	12. Chapter 11: Visions Of The Past

**__**

Chapter 11: Visions Of The Past

"Hey, Roll." Mega Man yawned. "Repair job went good, right? I didn't get too banged up that time, to my knowledge…"

"No, it went fine." Roll smiled. Mega looked at her directly; something was twitching around the corners of her mouth.

"All right, sis. What happened? Rush's jet mode is ready, right?"

"Yeah, but that's not all. Just come with me." She told him, turning. "You have GOT to see this." Shrugging, Mega did so, following her into the Cossacks' living room, where Sergei, Kalinka and Pharaoh Man were all watching the television raptly. Mega started to interrupt, then stopped as he saw what was on the screen.

"…created by Dr. Trenton Corbun of US Robotics and the billionaire who wishes to be known only as 'Mr. X' in a remarkably short amount of time." The announcer standing in front of the building reported cheerfully. "The Robot Museum stands three stories tall, each and every inch dedicated to mankind's mechanical brethren, as the flyers put it. Despite the recent Rebellion, there's no question about how these two men view the Robot Masters. And when walking through this remarkable edifice, one cannot help but feel the same way." Now shots of the inside were being shown… primitive, twentieth-century robotic arms… a silent clip from a video about the Second Rainbow… a cluster of defanged Metools, watching passersby curiously… and one that even took Rock's breath away, a grand hall lined with remarkably lifelike imitations of Robot Master after Robot Master, standing side by side like medieval suits of armor. "This Robot Museum is a worthy tribute to all those Robot Masters, and indeed, all robots period remaining who have not turned against us. If you're anywhere in Japan, or near it, we strongly advice that you consider stopping by here." A final clip was shown of the entrance again… with animatronics of Rock, Roll and Dr. Light all waving in welcome.

"…Wow." Mega Man found himself grinning. "Who would have thought it. Dr. Corbun and Mr. X… so that's what they've been doing. Those two sneaks… and they pulled it off."

"That's not all." Kalinka told him gleefully. "Earlier on, they were out front… with Mr. Vinkus, and he was saying that the U.N. supported the entire thing!"

"Ha… more likely, they were caught with their pants down and need to save face." Roll snorted. "But they won't shut it down, and that's what's important. And Vinkus… well, who knows. But this is definitely a step back in the right direction for the robotics movement."

"Indeed." Dr. Cossack looked thoughtful. "And yet, we must wonder. Even if the United Nations does not interfere with this Robot Museum, they may yet retaliate against robots in a supposedly unrelated fashion… some new laws, more restrictions, and the like."

"Not right at first, they won't." Roll shook her head. "This is big news… the mob is a fickle thing, and popular support is behind this for a moment. The UN'll wait for it to die down before moving against robots again."

"And that's why I need to move fast." Mega finished, standing up. "Two more to go, then the big men." Out of respect for Kalinka, he decided not to mention Proto Man's name directly. "Once they're all gone, the Rebellion will die, and so will a great deal of anti-robot feelings, with luck. If I can take the ones left out fast enough, than that will solve the UN problem as well."

"Speaking of the UN, guess who's calling." Bright Man yelled from the lab. Mega nodded.

"Perfect timing. Let's go get my next marching orders." All of them save Kalinka got up and walked into the lab.

"Mega Man… hello. Wave Man gave you no trouble, I assume?" Martel inquired politely. Despite his collected appearance, he could not hide the many annoyed or even openly hostile faces in the collective behind them. Mega forced himself to hide a smirk, and around him he guessed family and friends were doing the same. Dr. Corbun's and Mr. X's surprise had had its effect.

"I remain as of yet not dead." Mega shrugged. "And the reservoir is recovered. Have I atoned for my gaffe in Casablanca yet?" Martel smirked.

"Hm… well, perhaps. I think I can safely say that in a majority vote, you have nothing to worry about… and we DO run on majority vote here." The tightness around the word "do" seemed directed more at several of the people behind him than at those in front of him. Mega nodded, politely ignoring that.

"Well, that's good. So then, councilors. Two left. I think I can make a guess as to which one you want me to head to today."

"That would be something I would not be inclined to put money on, yes." Martel agreed wryly. "But, just for the sake of formula-something else we are big on here… ahem. In light of the continued lack of Napalm Man's success in actually posing a threat to his conquered territory, we have decided that your next recovery should be of the Energen Crystal Mine in New Guinea. This is the mine in which the blue variant is located. I assume you are familiar with the general area."

"Indeed I am, councilors." Mega nodded. "I've been there twice… once when I fought Needle Man, during the Third… and again, later on in the Third, when I fought Doc Man… possibly the most dangerous of all Wily's creations." He did not mention that the deranged Robot Master had not been doing his creator's bidding then; that was something that the world outside from the Lights and Cossacks had no need to know about, especially at this time. "I wonder if the statue of him in the new Robot Museum will be accurate?" That provoked a few angry mutterings from the councilors behind Martel, who turned around wearily.

"I believe we agreed upon SILENCE DURING THESE CALLS!" He bellowed in a voice that would have been audible five miles away. The murmurs died instantly, and Martel turned back to Mega Man. "Apologies for that… we are, sadly, not as unified as we theoretically should be in this time of crisis."

"Quite all right, Councilor." Mega smiled. "Might I inquire as to what your profession was before you took up your current career path, if you had one earlier in your life?"

"American military." Martel admitted. "I've forgotten most of what I learned in those days-probably for the best-but I do still remember a few important things from my years as a drill sergeant. At any rate, your next target is the Energen Crystal mind. Depart when ready."

"Now is good." Mega smiled. "See you soon, councilors." He teleported away, and Martel killed the connection.

"Well, that's that." Dr. Cossack shrugged. At that moment, Kalinka burst into the lab, wide-eyed. "Eh?"

"Father, Roll, Pharaoh, come quick!" The Russian girl told them. "You have to see this!" They ran to the television and looked at what was now playing on the news, and Roll covered her face.

"Oh, HELL…"

"Six down, then." Proto Man noted, glancing up at the main screen. The ever-present Rebellion Master's map was still shining brightly, though six of the ten portraits around it were black and empty. "Six generals killed, six locations reclaimed."

"Yeah." Dark Man agreed. "Star Man, shot to hell by plasma… that one was obvious, though. Looking back, we should have placed another one in charge there… he wasn't good enough."

"There's a distinct chance that none of them are." Proto Man reminded him. "And besides, we'd look like idiots if we DIDN'T place Star Man on the space station. Image is everything, Dark. Nobody's going to take your Rebellion seriously if you put Volcano Man in the Antarctic."

"I thought we got them to take us seriously by slaughtering untold numbers of their sorry monkey hides." Dark Man recalled. Proto shrugged.

"Well, to a degree, yes. But there's still a right way to do things."

"If you say so." Dark Man sighed. "After him, then, came Gravity Man, splattered against the Star Crash… again, no surprise. That one wasn't so much of a loss; we lost whatever was in that lab, yes, but we had no idea what was there anyways and there was no telling if we would even have been able to use anything from there."

"Yeah. Next was Stone Man, worn down bit by bit into rubble…" Proto Man snorted. "Which YOU went to a great deal of trouble to appear showy in, I might add. And you're chewing ME out for such things."

"Well, I had to do SOMETHING to save our face after… well, we've already had that argument." Dark Man shrugged. "I think Stone Man was the first one to actually stand a chance, but in the end he couldn't match up. Then came Charge Man, who ended up pounded into scrap… once again, no great loss. We didn't really need the train system any more; he had delivered enough stuff to us already, so by that point he was mainly just being a terrorist. Even when Mega Man killed him, the point had been made."

"Same with Gyro Man, though I was kind of hoping he would have won." Proto Man noted. "No such luck, though… crashed by that most pesky enemy of the flyboy, gravity. Always gets 'em in the end… shame, though. He always was an apt pupil."

"And that brings us to our latest loss, Wave Man." Dark Man nodded. "Ripped in half by a slide kick, of all things… ouch. He had no real chance, but still… hell of a way to go. No real loss territory-wise, though… hell, we can always just grab some water from the nearest ocean if we need it that badly. No, it's only when you lump it together with the other six that it becomes apparent what we've lost; most of our footholds into human society. Most of our taken spots. Most of our threat potential."

"We can regain them." Proto Man shrugged. "As I keep telling you, Dark, Mega Man is the thing. He's the key. He's what we're focusing on, he's what's important. Claiming to be after the world right now is just to keep him from figuring out how MUCH we're concentrating on him; not that that's not our ultimate goal. It is. But this isn't a serious attempt; we can do that AFTER little brother's out of the picture, for one way or another." Dark Man's eyes flashed in surprise.

"It… that's been your plan from the beginning, boss! None of it… the space station, the nukes… were ever meant to succeed? They were all just ploys?"

"Of course." Proto Man smiled darkly. "THINK, Dark Man. Either of those would have killed a planetload of humans, yes. But they'd ALSO wipe out most of our brethren, along with the facilities needed to construct more of them… and this planet we will be masters of, once the human filth have been cleansed. It hasn't been THAT long since the Third World War… damage from meteors or nukes could push the planet back over the edge. No, only an idiot would use either of those seriously, no matter what the situation… and I am far from that. Granted, those nukes would have been nice to have for bluffing purposes, but they're not worth getting severely worked up about." He glanced sidelong at his subordinate. "Admit it, Dark… you feel the same way I do, after fighting him once. You can't WAIT to try out the rest of your abilities… including your newest one… on him, can you?"

"Well… maybe." Dark Man grudgingly admitted. "I'll still feel better if one of the remaining two manages to take him down first, though."

"Maybe." Proto Man returned. "Two left, eh… well, there's your boy. Crystal Man. He's got a chance, hasn't he?"

"I'd say so." Dark Man nodded. "He's as good as Gyro Man was, at the least… and his terrain's one that can be used to his advantage against Mega Man."

"Yeah." Proto Man grinned over at the imprisoned doctors. "Thanks for that, dad."

"Hm?" Dr. Light blinked. "What did _I_ do?"

"You told me about Doc Man." Proto explained. "After that, I looked up some… info… on him. Apparently, one of the place dear brother fought him in was the very same mine Crystal Man now controls. Of course, years later it won't look anything like it used to, but it's still the same place… and Crystal Man knows how to operate off of that in every way." Dr. Light frowned, but did not reply. "Yeah, there's Crystal Man. And then, of course, there's the other one left."

"Napalm Man." Dark Man groaned. "Our own personal migraine. So, which one are we hoping he goes after first?" They both paused for a moment in thought, then spoke simultaneously. "Napalm Man."

"Napalm Man." Proto Man chuckled. "Evil minds think alike, I see."

"It serves a double purpose." Dark Man explained. "First, despite his lack of a brain he is still the most formidable fighter among those eight. His chances of winning will be better if Mega does not have Crystal Man's weapon, though if he DOES beat Napalm then we can take it as a sign that Crystal won't have a prayer. And second…"

"Second, we hate his guts and want him to die, and would probably kill him ourselves if he wasn't so useful to us." Proto Man finished.

"True enough." Dark Man chuckled. He turned to look at the map then, and stopped laughing. "Damn. Never mind… Mega Man just left, and Murphy's Law just kicked us in the arse once more."

"He's gone for Crystal Man?" Proto Man groaned. "Oh well. Should have figured. No point in dwelling on it, though…" He glanced at his father. "Care for another game of chess, pops? I need something to take my mind off that."

"Sure." Dr. Light agreed amicably. "It's better than just sitting here."

"Good." Proto Man began walking towards the cabinet where he kept the set.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Dark Man's eyes lit up as he stared at the screens. "Hold the phone, boss. There may be some good news at the moment after all… come here and check THIS out."

"Hm… looks like Crystal Man set up the shield in almost the exact same place Needle Man had it. Wonder if that was intentional." Mega Man gazed out over the Energen Crystal mine, observing the changes. The extensive mining operation had not been kind to this area of New Guinea in recent years… though it had hardly been before. Before, it had been an industrial playground, all metal and machinery. Now all that was gone, along with any semblance of nature; everything was stripped away to lay open the abundant deposits of precious blue crystal that lay beneath the earth. Mega was not quite sure if he approved of the change or not. The only thing to break the fields of slightly glowing mineral were tall glass tubes containing mining equipment, rising in line like telephone poles around the perimeter of the mine's entrance, where the earth had not yet been completely cleared away. Even the sky above seemed touched by the Energen crystals' glow to Mega Man's optics, off-colored a strange turquoise.

"Too much time here could do something to a guy's head." The Blue Bomber muttered, wasting the first few security robots; they were all of a type previously encountered in Gravity Man's lab. He did not remain above ground for long; the path led into an open tunnel, and from there downward into the depths of the Earth. Here, the crystal surface was even more present, covering walls and ceiling as well as beneath Mega's feet. Had he been human, the effects on the vision and mind would have been highly confusing. However, in some places the crystal walls were missing, gaps in their places extending back until dirt and rock once again formed boundaries, with the strange mining equipment's lower portions visible once more. Mechanical pipes in the ceiling dropped chunks of lesser, imperfect stone into disposal pits. Mega dodged the first and jumped the second simultaneously.

"Just like old times, eh, Mega Man?" An intercom commented. "As I recall, my predecessor in controlling these mines had a needle press setup here… which, like this, would require excellent timing to get past."

"Crystal Man." Mega replied, not pausing for a second in his acrobatics. "Yeah, he did. I made it past them. I'll make it past this."

"Really? I'd also heard you sustained a hand injury there on your second trip through… your left one, I believe." THAT gave Mega pause, but fortunately he had already made it past the last one.

"Now how the hell did you know THAT?"

"My Crystal Eye sees everything… past, present and future." Crystal Man's voice was confident, mocking. "You can't hide anything from me, Mega Man… I know it all. Keep that in mind as you trek onward towards your doom." The intercom clicked off, and Mega shook his head as he climbed a ladder.

"Now I've got the personality simulation of a charlatan fortune teller to deal with… as if the charlatan magician wasn't bad enough. Well, why not? I've run into worse personality simulations in my enemies… at least he's not another Top Man. Oy."

"Beep!" Eddie seemed to agree as Mega met him in the next room, though the little suitcase 'bot had never actually encountered the demented Robot Master that Mega spoke of. Flipping his lid, he presented Mega with a valuable prize; an E-Tank.

"Whoa! Found one of THESE somewhere? Way to go, Ed!" Mega congratulated him, taking it. Eddie beeped again happily before departing. Climbing up another level, Mega blinked. This floor of the cavern was backlit strangely in blood-red light. The effect, reflecting and refracting off the blue crystals, made trekking through truly strange… and the Crystal Joe sentries, firing off spearheads of silica they created on the spot, didn't help things either. Mega frowned as he eliminated them, one by one; the area seemed familiar, particularly the end of the corridor. "What is it about this one…?"

"Can't remember?" Crystal Man taunted from another intercom. "My, how frustrating to be so short-minded… very well, I'll inform you. This… was where you first fought your enemy Doc Man in this mine." Again, Mega was struck motionless for a moment as the memories flooded in. Again, he saw the dreadful fight between them… the fifth one in the seemingly endless chain…

_He emulated Air Man here… although his mind was so messed up by this point the accidentally used Quick Man's image again, or was that just his twisted sense of humor… it was a deadly attack pattern, and without my Wood Shield to neutralize it I couldn't find a way around… until I used the Magnet Missile…_

"The past is dead." Mega Man growled, shaking off the train of thought. "Doc Man is dead. You, Crystal Man… you are dead."

"Scary." Crystal Man chuckled. "Big words for somebody who stood motionless for almost five minutes. Good thing you took out all the Crystal Joes in the area first." Mega blinked. Had he really been sidetracked by his own thoughts that long? "Somebody who can't control his own past has no hope of destroying me. Admit it, Mega Man… you still haven't put it behind you. And this time… your big brother won't be here to help you. Just the opposite, in fact… ha ha ha." Again the intercom shut off, and again Mega moved on.

"I don't believe this… he's even got the janitorial robots after me." The Blue Bomber wisecracked halfheartedly, destroying a floor buffer 'bot whose top now contained a three-way shrapnel launcher. "But he's right… I still haven't forgotten that." Even now, he still had nightmares about the mad Robot Master who had started the Third Robot Rebellion for the sole purpose of revenge against him and Dr. Wily. The Robot Master he had finally killed, after eight fights in a row. But while he had banished the physical self of Doc Man to the afterlife at last, he could not similarly rid his mind of the horrible, fixed grin or the peals of laughter that accompanied him everywhere.

"Why?" He muttered to himself as he emerged above ground once more. "It's not that he was Advanced… Dark Man is too, and fighting him isn't lingering on my mind that much. No… it was because he was insane. He was a Robot Master, and he killed humans… he was going to kill Wily. He freed himself of the three laws, in exchange for his mind… almost like…" He froze. "No… Blues… is that what… could have happened to him? He's definitely not mentally stable… but he's not running around gibbering like a loon either. No, it's not that… or if it is, the damage isn't as extensive as it was with Doc Man. But still…" He looked down into the large hole that led back underground and frowned; it was too deep and dark for his liking. Fortunately, he now had a way to make it more traversable accessible again. "Rush!"

"Woof!" The robotic dog came to him, glanced at the hole and went into Jet Mode. Stepping on his back, Mega flew down into the depths of the mine.

"So… Blues might be as nuts as he is. Or approaching that, anyways… but that's only part of it. Another part is Doc Man himself… he was a seriously freaky guy, even for somebody who's seen as much action as I have. But there's still something left…" He thought logically. "Hm… I think I've exhausted all the external possibilities… so what about internal ones?" His eyes widened. "That's it… it's ME. If Blues could snap like that… couldn't I too? THAT'S what's been eating at me all this time." He shook his head. "I'm not a psychologist… I can't perform an analysis on myself. I do have to remember to try and see somebody who DOES know more about this, though, once all this is settled. Pity Doc Froid was killed. At the least, though, now I know the problem… and since I do, I know what I have to put aside for the fight. No more uncertainty for me, thanks… Crystal Man is going down. Hey!" His eyes shot to a wall. There, on a tiny ledge, nearly invisible against the glowing blue walls… was another E-Tank. Steering Rush over to it, Mega picked it up happily.

"Now I have two of… huh? What… what the heck?" Mega stared at the canister. In shape and color, it was absolutely identical to all before it… but it was humming with a power easily twice as potent as an E-Tank's. On its side, instead of the usual E, a large black M was engraved. "An… M-Tank…?" He carefully pocketed it. "This definitely needs to go to Cossack. And to do that, I need to finish up here. Hi-ho, Rush!" Back down the vertical shaft they continued, seemingly endlessly. Every so often, a bed of spikes would stick out from the sheer walls, and Mega knew he had made the right choice. He almost missed the circuit plate, duct-taped to a wall, but he spotted it in time and grabbed it as well.

"Wonder how far down this goes, anyways… well, no matter. It'll end some time… and when it does, Crystal Man will be there. And he's not playing mind games with me again."

"Kalinka, is something wrong?" Dr. Cossack inquired, concerned. "You're not eating your dinner." The doctor and his daughter were sitting together in the castle's dining room; like the rest of it, it was much larger than was actually needed. Ring Man was leaning nonchalantly near the door, on guard duty. Kalinka jabbed at her steak with a fork and grunted.

"Everything is wrong, father. You know that."

"Well, I meant besides that." Cossack shrugged, taking a bite of his own. "Yes, we have another Robot Rebellion going on, Thomas is kidnapped and there's… the whole issue with Blues." He chose his phrasing on THAT rather carefully; Kalinka still reacted strongly to anybody who suggested that it was truly the eldest son of Light around her. "But you seem to have grown somewhat used to that recently. Tonight, you are depressed again."

"Well, there's Napalm Man." Kalinka shook her head. "THAT's new. And the instant the UN sends Rock to Crystal Man's, even… they will not be happy when they call next, father. It seems despite Dr. Corbun's guesses, nothing is perfect."

"Apparently so." Dr. Cossack sighed. "But at least this way he nearly has a full arsenal before taking on that lunatic. I think he will come up on top."

"Yes… and then he goes to find and take out that imposter." Kalinka sighed. "You know who I believe it to be."

"Yes… we must always consider that it is simply another of Dr. Wily's tricks." Cossack admitted. "You and I know, more than anybody else, how cunning and convoluted that madman's schemes can be. And yet… like my Rebellion, and the Third before it… the style, the technique of these acts do not match the first and second Rebellions, leading to the conclusion that it is another agent behind this."

"But not Blues." Kalinka maintained adamantly. "He would never do this… no matter what SOME people believe." She glanced at the empty seat across the table meaningfully.

"Please, Kalinka." Cossack smiled tolerantly. "For all our sakes, do not start arguing with Roll again. My eardrums have still not recovered from the last time. I do wonder where she is, though."

"She's a robot." Kalinka shrugged. "She doesn't need to… heck, she CAN'T eat dinner with us."

"True, but she normally chooses to join us in conversation here, out of courtesy." Dr. Cossack turned to Ring Man. "Ring? Do you happen to know Roll Light's current location?"

"Roll Light is currently in the guest bedroom-or should I say, capsule room-designated for her use." Ring Man replied. "She has requested privacy for the time being."

"Privacy? Hm… strange for a robot." Kalinka chewed her steak thoughtfully. After finishing her dinner, she left her father to his workshop, installing the latest recovered circuit plates for his robot. Checking to make sure Ring Man was not watching her too closely, she nonchalantly strolled into the castle's control center and began examining security camera footage. It did not take her long to find Roll's room. The camera was in one corner of the ceiling, and it showed that the robot girl was sitting on the edge of her stasis capsule, motionless. She appeared to be holding a picture frame; to Kalinka's irritation, the camera was not positioned to be able to see it. Roll was staring at the picture with a strange, hopelessly sad expression on her features. "Hm… what is she thinking about?"

"Spying on others is not an admirable pastime, mistress Kalinka." Ring Man reproved from right behind her. Kalinka jumped; she had not hear the Robot Master approach.

"Ah heh…" She chuckled. "You always were the sharpest one except for Pharaoh Man, Ring."

"I do not believe this is the occasion for jokes involving my weaponry." Ring Man chided. "It may not be my place to make observations about your conduct, but I must wonder why you are so flagrantly violating Miss Roll's request."

"I just wanted to know what she was doing." Kalinka protested. "But I can't see that picture she's holding, so there's no luck."

"May I…? Ah." Ring Man glanced at the screen. "I believe I recognize that frame… I have seen it in her room while cleaning it. It contains a family photograph… Miss Roll, her father and both her brothers. I believe it was taken in the winter preceding the Fourth Robot Rebellion, when Blues Light was still living at home."

"So that's why she's looking at it…" Kalinka realized. "But why is she simply staring at it-" The answer struck her like a thunderbolt, as she remembered her conversation with Pharaoh Man days before.

_"I will never be able to perfectly match humanity's capacity for emotion, any more than they can… no matter how much grief a robot feels, he cannot cry… tear ducts were deemed unnecessary in the first Robot Master designs by the Doctors Light and Wily… others, I would suggest you examine more closely…"_

"That is because that is all she can do, Miss Kalinka." Ring Man confirmed it. "She is a robot… despite her appearance, she is a machine of metal and circuitry. Were she human, she would be sobbing… but she possesses no tear ducts."

"Robots cannot cry." Kalinka whispered. "I had forgotten… was Pharaoh Man thinking of this when he told me… yes, he had to be…"

"Robots are better at reading other robots." Ring Man explained. "Even the most advanced Robot Masters such as Miss Roll are not as suited to showing emotion as humans are… but we can tell. We have known of Miss Roll's suffering ever since she arrived at the castle."

"But…" Kalinka shook her head. "She's so cold… so cynical. She believes that really IS Blues… she was the first to do so…"

"Exactly." Ring Man nodded. "You have been grieving for him though you believe him to be innocent, Miss Kalinka… imagine the grief of one who truly DOES believe that her own brother has become such an evil being, and ripped her family apart." Kalinka froze. "She DOES believe that is Blues… and that is WHY she grieves. And she thinks that her other brother, Rock, has no recourse but to kill him."

"I… I need to think about this." Kalinka lowered her head. "I… I'm going to my room, Ring Man. I know about my father's rule that one of you must guard me at all times… but please, do it from the door outside. I need privacy now too." Ring Man nodded.

"Of course, miss Kalinka."

"Idiot." Mega Man growled, stepping past the smoking remains of the giant purple humanoid robot Crystal Man had set as his bodyguard. The metal shutters opened as they always did.

"You have arrived, then." Crystal Man greeted him respectfully. Mega Man nodded.

"I have."

"And have you discovered your weakness?" The green Robot Master demanded.

"I have." Mega repeated. "There are things I still fear… barriers I have yet to overcome. But for now… I am ready to destroy you."

"Is that so." Crystal Man wondered, raising a metallic eyebrow. "Brave words sometimes hide inner weakness. Are you truly prepared, or are you simply fooling yourself? If it is the latter, then you are doomed."

"It is not." The Blue Bomber smiled slightly. "If you cannot see this, then it is as I thought… your Crystal Eye is as big a fraud as Dark Man's 'magic.' And I know how you saw what happened here in the past. Old security camera footage. After Needle Man and Doc Man were killed, the humans who reclaimed this mine never got rid of it… and it was left for you to find and use in your act."

"…Keenly spotted." Crystal Man approved. "Then there is no further point in delaying the inevitable. Put your life on the line here once more, Mega Man!" He struck a battle pose, then leapt at least ten feet vertically into the air. "My Crystal Eye may not see all, but it will still strike you down!" The crystal orbs on his forehead and chest flew out and separated like water, splitting into two smaller spheres each. Four Crystal Eyes flew around like superballs, bouncing off walls, ceiling and floor. Ignoring them, Mega Man stood his ground and blasted his enemy with a charged shot. The shot hit, but one of the Eyes struck the Blue Bomber in the back, knocking him flat for the three others to slam into.

"You still lack wisdom. When has charging in like a bull ever served you?" Crystal Man observed. Now regenerated, his chest crystal glowed and fired an energy blast. Before it hit, however, Mega Man rolled away from it and jumped back to his feet.

"Point… let's try an indirect assault, then!" As his colors shifted to blue and white and he rammed his Buster into the ground, a long hose with a drill at its end extended into the ground. Burrowing under Crystal Man in a matter of seconds, the drill retracted and matter synthesizers propelled a surge of water through the hose at high pressure.

"What the-?" Crystal Man blurted as the Water Wave struck him. "Argh… not bad, not bad! But one surprise attack isn't enough to finish me off!" He leapt and fired the Crystal Eye once again. This time, Mega Man jumped and dodge the four projectiles, but in doing so, he took his eyes off the green Robot Master and was punished by an energy bolt. "Not good enough. You say you know your weaknesses, and that may be so. But you must also know your strengths, in order to succeed."

"My strengths, huh…" Mega smiled. "Experience… and variability. Don't count me down because you've got an early lead… try it again, and I'll bet things go differently."

"Only one way to find out…" Crystal Man released the Crystal Eyes once more, and for the second time Mega Man stood his ground… surrounded by a bright orange force field. All four projectiles shattered against it, and before Crystal Man could recover, the Blue Bomber had changed weapons again.

"Now it's green versus green." The first Gyro Blade slammed into Crystal Man's chest… and was deflected by the orb there.

"Ha! Nice try!" Gyro Man smirked. "Almost had me there, but no dice!" He fired another plasma burst, which Mega dodged again. "HA! Now I have you!" As Mega slid, he leaped up and released his Crystal Eye once more… then froze, realizing what he had done too late.  
"Gotcha." Mega Man flung out another Gyro Blade, between the newly created projectiles, and into the chest cavity before a new orb could be regenerated. Crystal Man screamed as the blade lodged in the systems and fell to the ground. Mega Man did not stop there; he hurled two more razor-sharp propellers, and Crystal Man's arms fell off with another scream. "That should do it, then… you lost."

"I… did." Crystal Man seemed to smile through his pain. "You… win. You are… strong."

"That I am." Mega Man moved forward to deliver the killing blow, then paused. "Why did you tell me all those things? Didn't you know they would only make me stronger?"

"Indeed… I did." Crystal Man admitted. "If I could not beat you when your mind was strong, I did not deserve to do so when it was weak. The one who… reprogrammed me… made a mistake. He made me loyal to… my master, not him. That loyalty is absolute… and with my knowledge, I discovered what even my master does not know… about himself. My master… needs you. You and your father… are the only ones… that can help him. And to do that… your mind must be strong. Go… Mega Man. Go to… my master. One more… and then he shall await you." And then he fell forward, the final blow not even needed; he had perished from energy and fluid loss from his grievous injuries.

"His master, huh…" Mega wondered. "Different from the one who reprogrammed him? That makes no sense… unless Dark Man did that. A little rift between the enemy, perhaps? Does he… still think Proto Man can be talked out of it?" Bending over, he took the Crystal Eye and departed, the question still weighing heavily on his mind.


	13. Chapter 12: Armed And Dangerous

**__**

Chapter 12: Armed And Dangerous

__

"Yeah, I got the orders no problem. When they come here, I start burning things! Burning EVERYTHING! Until they're nothing but ashes, and then I'll burn the freaking ashes again! MAN, I love my job." -Robot Master Burner Man, during the King Robot Rebellion

"Check." Dr. Light informed his eldest son, moving his queen into position. Proto Man chuckled darkly.

"Not bad, dad… but I do believe that was a mistake." He moved a rook, and knocked the queen over with a clink of plastic. He continued chuckling as he removed it, then stopped as he saw his father's triumphant smirk.

"Wrong… THAT was the mistake. Checkmate." He moved a bishop into the space the rook had vacated. "Close, but you should have been watching the other pieces more closely."

"Damn." Proto Man admitted, scanning the board. "You got me… no way out. I'm rusty… been slipping since I haven't played in a while. I should have seen that a mile away."

"Well, there's only one way to fix that." Dr. Light smiled. "Care for another game?"

"In a minute." Proto stood and yawned. "Dark Man should be coming in soon, and there's something we need to do."

"Um… I'm already here, boss." Dark Man spoke, turning his chair around. "I came in ten minutes ago… you were so caught up in your game that you didn't notice me, and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Ho! Silly me!" Proto Man grinned and slapped his forehead. "You made the right call there, though. Family time isn't the sort of thing one interrupts unless he wants his arms… sorry, arm, singular… torn off."

"And I kind of like my arm where it is." Dark Man agreed. "Anyways, what did you want us to do?"

"Something very unpleasant." Proto Man sank down into his own chair with a sigh. Dark Man's eyes dimmed.

"You don't mean…"

"I'm afraid so." Proto confirmed. "Against my better judgment, we'd better call up Napalm Man one last time. I was surprised as hell to find out that that imbecile finally got his act together, but I'm not complaining."

"As I recall, your exact words were 'that brainless numbskull probably fluked into it by pure luck, running in my favor except for my brother's for once in my life.'" Wily remarked.

"Yeah, something like that." Proto shrugged. "I was feeling happy. I'm worried that if we interact with him in any way, that just might cause him to screw it up again and ruin this." Dark Man's eyes flashed in what might have been a blink.

"So why call him at all, then?"

"Because I want him to know Mega Man's coming." Proto Man sighed. "He is, you know. Might already be on his way, by this time. Napalm Man's the only one left instead of us, and he has no idea where we are… even IF Napalm hadn't done this, he'd be heading there. And I want him to at least know what's coming… he might not UNDERSTAND it, but at least we can tell him. Dial him up."

"If you say so, boss." Dark Man shrugged. The connection opened revealing an empty room. "…What the hell? He knows standard protocol is to always leave somebody… here…" He broke off suddenly.

"What?" Proto Man frowned.

"Two days ago." Dark Man growled. "I told him to take every one of his robots with flaming or explosive capabilities with him. That includes all his Warmongers… so he didn't leave anybody minding the store. There's nobody actually in the base who can talk."

"Oh, GODS." Proto Man sighed heavily. "So what do we do?"

"I've got some override codes that can get me control of one of the dumb robots." Dark Man decided. "I'll have one find him and tell him to get in here." They waited for several minutes in silence, the only noise being the tapping of Dark Man's hand on the keyboard, and then Napalm Man's face appeared onscreen.

"Uh… hello?"

"I… you… know what? Never mind." Proto Man shook his head despairingly. "It's not important."

"Oh, okay!" Napalm Man nodded. "Bye, then!" Before either of them could stop him, he cut the connection. Dark Man immediately moved to reestablish it while Proto Man muttered several curses in exotic languages (Greek, Hungarian and Swahili to be exact). "Um… hi? Thought you said…"

"Forget that. And DON'T kill this connection again, or I'LL kill YOU." Proto Man growled. "Let me just get this over with as soon as possible, so my brain can stop hurting. Mega Man is coming. He's coming for YOU."

"Mega…Man…?" Napalm Man muttered. Strangely, his voice sounded different… as if he was actually thinking about what they had said. "He's… coming here now?"

"That's right." Dark Man nodded patiently. "Good, Napalm Man. Mega Man is coming to fight you."

"You… don't say." Something gleamed in Napalm Man's eyes. "Well, it's about time. Any idea on how long until he arrives?"

"Uh…" Proto Man glanced at Dark Man, who shrugged. "Not exactly, but it should be no more than a couple hours."

"I see." Napalm Man grunted. "Well then, with your permission, I'll pull the army off tree detail and reorganize them into a proper defensive lineup. The fire's going anyways… it doesn't really need us any more to spread."

"Okay…" Dark Man shrugged. "If you say so."

"All right then." Napalm Man nodded his torso forward. "Leave everything to me, masters… I'll send you his remains in an ashtray."

"You… feeling okay, Napalm?" Proto Man inquired cautiously.

"Never better." Napalm Man chuckled darkly. "Looks like I get my shot after all… I'll be in touch, masters." The screen went black, leaving the two Advanced Robot Masters staring at it.

"What… the HELL… was THAT?" Proto Man wondered. Slowly, Dark Man's eyes began glowing.

"I think… I think that was Napalm Man's brain turning 'on', boss."

"Really…" Proto Man's teeth bared in a manic grin. "Well, what do you know. I didn't think he HAD one." He stood. "For some reason, I'm feeling good. I know that breaks the tradition following calls with Napalm Man but I can't help it. I'm feeling lucky, too, for that matter… so how about that game of chess, pop? Ha ha ha ha ha…"

"Morning, Roll." Mega Man smiled as he sat up. "Hope the repairs weren't too bad… it didn't seem like Crystal Man gave me THAT hard a time…"

"No, they weren't." Roll agreed, face grim. Her brother frowned.

"What is it, Roll?"

"You'd better come see this." She turned and walked away. Mega blinked, shrugged and followed her.

"Same deal as yesterday, but she doesn't look very happy now… did the UN strike back at Corbun and X?" As they reached the living room, Roll grabbed the television's remote and flipped it on. Instantly, the Blue Bomber knew what had gotten his sister in such a mood. On the screen… trees were burning. Many, many trees.

"How long has this been going on?" Mega growled.

"Pretty much the instant you left yesterday." Roll shook her head. "It was a freak blunder of timing… not ten minutes later, the UN called back to ask if you had left for Crystal Man's already. When they found out you had, Martel used some words not even _I_ know."

"Unsurprising." Mega shook his head in disbelief. "He finally did it… Napalm Man finally got his act together. Do they say how much of the forest has been lost?"

"20 already, and another 20 even if firefighters could get in there right now… which they can't." Roll told him. "It's bad, bro. Real bad. He's got his entire army working on it… and that includes all those Warmongers. They're completely obliterating that forest… Doc Corbun sure wasn't joking around when he made those."

"Apparently not." Mega turned away. "Is Cossack in the lab?"

"Last time I checked, yeah." Roll nodded. "Why?"

"Need to give him something I found to analyze… as well as the circuit plate." The Blue Bomber explained as he left the living room. "Then I'm gone… I can't wait for the UN to call on this case. This time, I already know what they're going to order me to do, so they won't get bent out of shape. Napalm Man's going DOWN… fast and hard."

"Don't get cocky." Roll reminded him. "Those things are monstrosities… even you won't be able to take one down easy." Mega nodded.

"I don't expect to… I meant that as a necessity, not as a boast. I NEED to kill him ASAP, to prevent the forest from being completely obliterated." He walked into the lab and tossed the M-Tank at the surprised Dr. Cossack. "Here you go, Doc. Can you analyze this for me?"

"An… M-Tank?" Dr. Cossack blinked, looking it over. "Curious indeed… where did you find this?"

"Lying around Crystal Man's." Mega explained. "I don't know what it is, but it's probably powerful."

"Undoubtedly." Cossack agreed. "I will look it over. Did you recover the circuit plate as well?"

"Yeah." Mega handed it to him. "Right then, I'm-"

"Incoming call." Dive Man interrupted.

"Tell the UN Council I'm already gone… no time to waste." Mega prepared himself for warping.

"It is not the Council." Dive Man continued. "It is Dr. Corbun." At that, Mega hesitated; likely, the doctor was calling to give some advice on his prize Robot Master… advice he might need.

"All right." He sighed.

"Put him through." Cossack ordered Dive Man, who nodded and did so.

"Rock! Roll, Sergei! I saw the news!" Dr. Corbun greeted them excitedly. "I suppose even a robot with that inferior a brain would get the idea eventually. I presume you're about to leave and combat Napalm Man?"

"That I am." Mega confirmed.

"Well, be careful." Corbun warned him. "I know I told you the Warmonger brains are idiotic when it comes to most tasks, but that's because everything there is devoted to fighting… in that one field, they're top-notch! As soon as Napalm Man realizes you're coming, his brain will start working again, in overdrive! Whatever you do, DON'T assume you'll be dealing with a fool."

"Got it." Mega nodded. "What about weaknesses? Does he have any of those that you can key me in on…"

"Well…" Corbun winced. "Not as such… no. My orders were to do everything I could to avoid those. Elemental damage won't do much to him, his hull won't be overly damaged by explosions, blades or heavy impacts, and don't even THINK of trying anything close-range." He frowned. "If there's any sort of weakness at all, it will be in his head, not a body. The intellectual flaws will be below the surface, but they'll still exist. Find a way to exploit them."

"Understood." Mega smiled briefly. "By the way… how's the Robot Museum going?"

"Excellent." Corbun beamed. "We're selling tickets by the bucket-load here… once we recoup our expenses, we think we're going to start some type of pro-robot charity. X doesn't need the money by a long shot, and I'll be living quite happily on what US paid me for these projects for quite a while. Vinkus has been coming by every day… on the surface, he's all moans and groans about how much trouble we're going to get into for this, but I think he secretly kind of likes it. Who knows with him any more. At least the UN Council hasn't shut us down… and if they haven't by now, I doubt that they're going to."

"It seems doubtful." Cossack agreed. "Congratulations to both of you for pulling it off."

"Dad's going to be thrilled when we get him back." Roll chuckled. "He'll be going every day for a week, at least… maybe a month. It'll be like a little kid going to Disney World on a sugar rush." Mega winced and covered his forehead.

"Oy vey… she's right. It'll be the 2074 Robotics Convention all over again. I assume you remember THAT."

"Oh, yes." Corbun laughed. "Who do you think it was that finally put the sedative in his drink so you could take him home?"

"Should have figured." Mega laughed. "Well, good luck… I need to get going and stop that fire."

"Right." Corbun nodded. "Be careful."

As Mega Man arrived from his teleport, he immediately tensed up and looked around warily. Seeing lush greenery waving in the breeze, he relaxed; the fire had not spread to this area. Yet. Looking up, he saw that the sky was a sickly, burning orange. "Can't say I approve of the color." Even though it was not visible, he knew that the awesome destructive force of the blaze created by the Warmongers was beyond even his power to halt. All he could do was take out Napalm Man; he could not eliminate the monster the enemy Robot Master had created. Only fire control crews sent in by the UN could do that… and those could only come once he had done his job. Mega was jolted from his thoughts by the sudden sight of a furious orange mass rushing at him. A robotic tiger, pouncing at him. Instinctively, he brought up his Buster and fired the charged shot he had been unconsciously holding in, and the metal beast died with a whimper. Mega wiped his brow, even though he did not sweat; that had been close. Continuing forward, he encountered more of the tigers, along with newly-erected spike pits that the felines threatened to slam him into.

"These were put together intentionally to maximize the threat… and in a hurry." The Blue Bomber realized. "Guess that confirms what Dr. Corbun told me… this is no idiot I'm going up against. Not any more." He jumped down into a cavern tunnel and blew away the tiger waiting for him there in one motion. "But I'm no idiot either." Dropping down further, he saw a line of Metool-operated cannon turrets, the same ones that had been installed outside his home a week ago. "Heavy artillery… of course." Like the spikes, they looked as if they had been moved to their current positions only recently. Moving from one to another, Mega systematically destroyed them. As he neared the last one, he suddenly saw something behind it. "Eh…?" And then it drew closer, and his eyes widened. It was a huge, flat, saw-toothed circle drill boring down on him, and the Meturret in its way was ground into scrap instantaneously. "OH, HELL!" It filled the entire tunnel; there was no room to dodge. All he could do was fight back. Mega fired a charged shot, praying that the drill's armor was not as thick as it looked. It wasn't, but the danger wasn't over; the monstrous drill exploded in shrapnel, and Mega winced as he was struck in the shoulder and knee.

"Ow… got to watch out for those." He winced. "That won't be the last… but that was a neat trick. The Meturrets were just a distraction." As he predicted, several more drills came down the tunnel towards him when he continued on. Now, he made sure to blast them when they were a safe distance away, and at the end of the tunnel he found a ladder taking him up higher. He started to go on, then paused; on some inner instinct, he turned back around. The wall behind him looked as if it had been repaired recently. "Another change in the last couple hours… what do I do, then? It could be a trap, but if it's not… I'll risk it." He unleashed the Gravity Hold, tearing the loose wall stones away, and revealing an E-Tank. "Awesome… he tried to hide this. He should have destroyed it… he won't be needing it, and it'll just contribute to his master's downfall. Mistake on his part." The next section contained underground waterfalls; thin streams of water poured down from below onto ledges protruding from the wall before rushing downward into the darkness of a massive pit. Wary of robots hiding in the water, Mega used the Power Stone before jumping to each ledge. He was progressing along, thinking he had outsmarted Napalm Man once again, when he heard the whirring of a propeller blade and paled.

"No… he got ME again!" It was a small helicopter pod, barely large enough for one man-or in this case, one robot, a purple-clad Sniper Joe-but it had a gun turret below the windshield, and that was enough. Jumping to a ledge that did not have a waterfall, Mega signaled Rush hurriedly. As the robotic dog teleported in, the Copter Joe began firing, and Mega took several small plasma bullets before he could jump onto Rush's back in Jet mode. Once he was in the air, he was able to triumph over the Joe, but the damage had been done, both physically and mentally. "Damn… I can't let him keep getting me like this." Wary of more Copter Joes, he piloted Rush the rest of the way to the cavern's exit, engaging two more before he made it. As he dismissed Rush, however, another teleportation beam streaked down and formed into Eddie, who happily gave him a large capsule of energy.

"Beep!"

"The guys back home thought I'd be needing this, huh?" Mega smiled as he absorbed it. "Well, they were right. I'm back up to full now, though. Thanks, Ed."

"Beep beep!" Eddie left again, and Mega continued on. The next obstacle, unlike the previous ones, was brutally simple; not one, but two of the big, red gorilla-like robots that Charge Man had used as a bodyguard sat angrily on the far side of a spike pit. And they both had missile launchers in their chests. Homing missile launchers. And to complete the tableau, the ninth and final circuit plate was taped to the ground between them. Hopping across some stepping stones that Napalm Man had thoughtfully provided, Mega blasted each missile as it approached.

"He probably expects me to get eager for the plate, fight them here and get knocked off… that or try to pick them off from a distance, eventually missing a missile." The Blue Bomber smirked. "Nothing doing." Bending over, he unleashed the Water Wave. The robots were heavy, but not heavy enough, and the sudden blast of liquid force beneath them launched them forward onto the spikes. Humming a little ditty, Mega picked up the plate and went on. Ahead of him was a large metal building. "That'll be his base… about time, too." They would be expecting him to come in through the front. Instead, looking around the back, Mega found a hatch that led into the basement. Dropping in, his eyes widened; there was a series of large missiles heading right for his face, and he recognized them as the sort that exploded in shrapnel no matter what hit them, or what they hit. Only the Star Crash saved him from a damage that would have taken him back down to where he had been before Eddie's energy capsule. "Damn… maybe he WAS expecting this. Or he has enough robots that he could heavily guard both ways." Shaking his head, he walked past what appeared to be a hangar full of parked tanks. "Wow… he has THOSE? No wonder he burned so much of the forest so fast… question is, why didn't he send his Warmongers out to use them against me?" He thought for a moment. "Maybe… he figured I might be able to take out the driver. I certainly did with Star Man and Wave Man's heavy vehicles. And if I did on one of THESE, then I'd be able to drive it, and use it against this base. That'd do it." He shook his head. "Enough thinking about that… Napalm Man's still up ahead." Looking forward, he saw a giant purple humanoid that only served to further strengthen that line of thought. And like the big reds before it, it stood near a spike pit. Shaking his head, the Blue Bomber equipped the Charge Kick and started forward.

Some robots never learned.

"Ah, Mister Vinkus." Elizabeth Coombe smiled. "We are happy that you could join us… even if it's twenty minutes late."

"Skip it, Councilor Coombe." Vinkus muttered. "I was just doing as the United Nations asked me to."

"Ahem… now that we're all here…" Martel coughed. "I hereby call this meeting to order. I believe the subject that occupied Councilor Vinkus is our latest issue. Tell us, then, how goes your surveillance, Councilor?"

"Same as yesterday." Vinkus shrugged. "It's exactly what it seems to be… just a big museum show. None of the robots have violent tendencies; most of them have had anything even resembling a weapon removed. The people love it; they're still flocking in by the truckload. It's hard to tell whether there's more of the tourists or the natives, since there's so many of both."

"What about Corbun and Xanthos?" Louis Arcian inquired. "How are they behaving?"

"That would be DOCTOR Corbun and MISTER X to you, Councilor." Vinkus reminded him coldly. Arcian scowled, but did not argue. "As to your question, they're both happy as clams… not that a clam can ever actually be happy. They're the center of media attention, and they're both loving it… and, of course, they're helping out their friends."

"Of course." Martel nodded in agreement. "So, you would not judge the Robot Museum to be a threat?" Vinkus snorted.

"A threat? Only to our dignity, ladies and gentlemen. It was made to give robots some good PR, and that's what it's done. I imagine once this Rebellion's over, its popularity will begin to fade, and within a few years it'll just be another tourist trap, and some of us won't even remember it."

"Very well." Martel shuffled some papers. "Onto the next order of business, then. You were not here at the time, Councilor Vinkus, but earlier today the rest of us made contact with Dr. Cossack's citadel. I'm sure you can guess what the purpose of our call was."

"Napalm Man." Vinkus rolled his eyes. "Obviously. And we thought letting the Robot Museum be built was a ghastly blunder. We send Mega Man off to one place, and not five minutes later, the OTHER one explodes in flames. Literally. What a disaster. So, you called to tell him to go there?"

"Indeed." Martel confirmed. "However, upon calling we discovered that we were too late. Mega Man had anticipated our order and departed already. For the second time, he left of his own accord, without waiting for our command. The question before the council is, should any action be taken against Rock Light for this, and if so what?"

"He should be punished, of course." Arcian responded instantly. "This is not the first, but the second time he has taken matters into his own hands… placed his own judgment above the council's. This simply cannot be allowed. He must be disciplined for it."

"How did I know you were going to say that, Councilor Arcian?" Coombe rolled her eyes. "Of course, it's completely out of the question."

"Out of the question?" Arcian sputtered.

"That's correct." Coombe nodded. "For one, this is NOT exactly the same as the previous incident. In Casablanca, Mega Man went there contrary to our interests, and acted against those. Here and now, he simply anticipated out order-we WERE going to send him after Napalm Man-and went as soon as he was ready, in order to prevent more damage from occurring. If any of us here can fault honestly fault him for THAT, let him speak." Nobody did. "Secondly, in case you had forgotten, we still need Mega Man. Napalm Man will be dealt with, that is a surety. But afterwards, two more will remain… the two most dangerous. Mega Man's own brother, Proto Man, and his flunky, Dark Man. And if they're following type, they will have a fortress… one guarded by at least twice as many robots as their conquered territories. UN armies could not successfully deal with the Skull Fortresses, and they will not be able to deal with this one as well. We don't even know where it IS, and if we do something to his brother, I doubt Proto Man will reveal it to us."

"Wouldn't that make him happy?" Councilor Salguerdo, of Brazil, disagreed. "They ARE enemies, after all."

"We're not dealing with a rational mind here." Martel reminded him. "Proto Man seems obsessed with having his younger brother be the one who fights him… who may stop him. He's made several errors in tactics and given several things away that he would not have had it been us directly combating him. I stand by Councilor Commbe; Mega Man should not be penalized for this. Shall we take it to a vote?" There were a few angry mutterings, Arcian's foremost among them, but none of the Councilors spoke openly. "Very well. Continuing on that note… I do believe there is something having to do with this Rebellion-to be specific, Napalm Man-that we CAN deal with ourselves."

"The fires." Vinkus guessed.

"Correct." Martel nodded. "I would like to move that, immediately following Mega Man's defeat of Napalm Man, we move all of our disaster prevention teams into the area and have them focus on putting out the fires. Even if all of Napalm Man's forces are shut down, the blaze will remain; and unless it is dealt with, it will destroy the entire forest. It is simply too big for any natural means to deal with; our only blessing is that it is in the treeborg forest, not any inhabited area. But that blessing is also a curse; if we do not do this, and do it fast, our planet's oxygen-producing capabilities will be crippled. Proto Man's goal there will have been accomplished. Are there any objections to this course of action?" This time, not even Arcian disagreed in the slightest. "Very good. At this moment, I call for a ten-minute recess." As the Councilors stood, Arcian caught Vinkus' eye.

"Could I have a moment, Darwin?"

"Perhaps later, Louis." Vinkus replied coolly. "There are a few things in my home I must attend to… I was unable to do so earlier on account of having to rush to this meeting from my position at the Robot Museum. I'm sure we can talk another time." Moving away, he left the meeting room. Scowling furiously, Arcian followed suit as well. Martel watched this all with a knowing smirk, then shrugged and did so as well, leaving the room for the moment empty.

"My turn at last." Napalm Man was standing at the far end of the command chamber, facing Mega Man. He had obviously been waiting there for his arrival. "Do you know how long I've waited for this moment?"

"About…" Mega Man thought for a moment. "Wait. Is that total waiting, or waiting while you knew what two plus two equaled?"

"You're about as funny as a train wreck." Napalm Man growled, then burst out laughing. "HAWHAWHAWHAWHAW! Except I DO find train wrecks funny!"

"I'll bet your buddy Charge Man appreciated that." Mega remarked dryly.

"Who cares about him?" Napalm Man spread his arms. "He was a piker. All of them were. Gyro Man was the only one of the lot who was built to fight."

"I brought him down regardless, just like the others." Mega reminded him. "And I myself wasn't a fighting robot from the beginning. So much for your hypothesis."

"Flukes happen." Napalm Man shrugged. "And eventually, they always lose out to the real thing. Enough chattering, already. I've been looking forward to this fight. Don't disappoint me!"

"I don't intend to!" Mega Man and Napalm Man fired simultaneously. From the former, a charged blast; from the latter, a missile launched out of his forehead turret. They met head-on and exploded, and Mega prepared for another attack… even as he saw the second missile blast forward. Startled, he slid forward and stood up straight into the third. Napalm Man had predicted his actions, and fired three missiles one after the other without even looking. Mega went down, and through the smoke, saw a figure rushing at him. Napalm Man, blasting forward far faster than the Blue Bomber had thought possible. Before he could get to his feet, his enemy hit him, running him over like a vehicle and continuing on, only to turn and raise his arms. Mega's eyes widened; he knew what that meant. From the launcher that replaced both his hands, two projectiles were tossed loosely out; orange cylinders that tapered to blunt cones on either end. Hitting the ground, they bounced towards the fleeing hero, then exploded. Mega was far enough away to avoid the actual impact, or the deadly napalm stored inside, but the explosion's force still knocked him back down.

"I told you already, don't compare me to those scrubs!" Napalm Man yelled. "I'm a one-robot army! You're up against the WAR MACHINE now, Mega Man!" He seemed to hunch back on his knees, then rushed forward again. This time, Mega saw him coming and slid away, and even as the enemy robot raised his arms again, he got to his feet and fired back. Napalm Man grunted, but did not falter, and fired the Napalm Bombs in a higher arc, soaring towards the Blue Bomber, who slid away again, this time not even being damaged. Napalm Man, undaunted, began firing missiles again, and Mega was forced to continue sliding over and over again to stay away. He circled Napalm Man, who kept firing missiles (thank whatever gods there were the missiles weren't homing), spiraling inward. By the time the enemy Robot Master noticed what was happening, it was too late; Mega had switched to the Charge Kick, and came in low at his enemy's legs. The Kick hit, and Napalm Man toppled back, but as he did, he lashed out with one arm and slammed Mega Man away into a wall.

"Ow… damn." Mega got back up as his adversary did as well. _Doc Corbun SAID not to try close-range tactics… my fault for not listening. He's not as strong as a Guts Man or a Hard Man, but I do NOT want to go near him again, all the same._ Choosing another weapon, he hurled a Gyro Blade. Napalm Man completely ignored it, launching another pair of Napalm Bombs into the air, and as he scrambled away, Mega saw that the blade did not penetrate deeply. "Geez, what did they MAKE your armor out of?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Napalm Man chuckled, hunching back again.

_He's gonna start speeding around like a damned motorbike again!_ Mega realized. _How can he do that? Maybe if I look at his feet…_ A glance as he ran answered the question. On the bottom of Napalm Man's metal boots were treads… like on a tank, except Napalm Man for all his weight was much lighter than those terrible engines of destruction, and could skid along on the treads instead of just slowly rolling. _Aha… maybe if I hit him there…_ It was dangerous to stop, but he had no choice. Selecting the Water Wave, he whirled around to face Napalm Man and activated it. The enemy Robot Master's eyes narrowed, and he rushed forward towards what he saw as a helpless target. _Gotcha!_ But even as the geyser erupted, Mega's triumph turned to shock. Napalm Man had jumped, anticipating the attack. And more than that, he had used his forward momentum to carry him at least ten feet forward horizontally, slamming straight into Mega Man and knocking him down. Desperately, Mega activated the Star Crash, but the Napalm Bombs' explosion tore it apart, and the burning weapon contained inside splashed over his frame. "AAAAAH!"

"Feeling the burn, Blue Bomber?" Napalm Man laughed as Mega Man desperately scrambled away, forcing his limbs to move through the searing pain. Chuckling, Napalm Man gave chase once more.

_E-Tank, E-Tank, gotta use an E-Tank! _Mega thought desperately as he pulled out one of the life-giving canisters and downed its contents. His internal operations energy was refilled, but the pain did not stop; the napalm was still on him. _What haven't I tried… my newest weapon, of course. I haven't used it once… I completely forgot about it!_ _Probably because it doesn't seem like it'd do much good… I mean, crystals? Against THIS behemoth? But what the hell!_ Switching to the Crystal Eye, he fired it automatically, then cursed; he hadn't even been facing in the right direction. A wasted shot… or perhaps not. As the large crystal orb hit the wall, it did not shatter; instead, it splattered apart into four smaller orbs. Like Crystal Man's version, they began bouncing off the walls at high speed. After fighting their original user, Mega knew how to avoid them, but the same could not be said of the bulky Napalm Man.

"What… hey! Get off!" He waved an appendage at a Crystal Eye, to no avail. "What the hell are THESE? You think these gnats can stop me? Come here, you…" Growling, he swatted at one, then yelled. "OW!" Facing away, Mega smiled. _The intellectual flaws will still exist below the surface… find a way to exploit them._

"Try again! Second time's the charm!" He fired another Crystal Eye, and once again it shattered.

"You lousy… get back here!" Napalm Man yelled, giving chase. "I'm gonna grind you into the floor!"

"That's if you can catch me!" Mega called back, firing as he ran. Behind him, he heard Napalm Man grunt and growl as the tiny Crystal Eyes slammed into him, over and over, like a swarm of furious bees.

"I'll blow you apart!" The furious Robot Master bellowed, halting and firing his head missiles. Shrugging, Mega Man turned and dodged them, continuing his Crystal Eye barrage as he did.

"An overpowering direct attack is threatening, indeed… but it leaves you vulnerable to indirect attacks. The Gravity Hold and the Power Stone wouldn't work on you… you're too heavy for the former, and the latter doesn't have enough uses to penetrate your armor. And you've already shown you can anticipate the timing of the Water Wave… but this, I get four shots to one use, and your big, clunky frame can't avoid it."

"SHUT UP!" Napalm Man screamed. "This'll show you!" He raised his arms and launched two Napalm Bombs… but before they got more than a foot away, a Crystal Eye slammed into one. Its explosion also set off its companion, and their flaming contents spilled back over their master. The napalm itself did not damage Napalm Man much-Doctor Corbun had shown better foresight than that-but the shock of having his own weapon turned against him paralyzed the mighty war machine, and Mega Man acted, firing a charged shot into his face. Slowly, Napalm Man teetered, and then the last of the Crystal Eyes zinged right between his shoulders, and he fell forward like a toppled tree.

"Well?" Mega Man asked as he approached. "Did that fight match up to your expectations?"

"…More than." Napalm Man's eyes were glazing over with death, but they were not angry. "Thought I… had you… but you… beat me. It was… worth it. All of it… was worth it."

"No." Mega Man shook his head. "It wasn't worth the deaths. It wasn't worth the damage to the forest. It wasn't worth the Rebellion. If all you wanted was to have me kill you… well, no, if you had just asked me I would have refused. But all THIS… wasn't necessary."

"…Perhaps." Napalm Man shrugged. "But what… choice did I have? My mind… not its own. Reprogrammed… by the master. By Dark Man. Me… more than any others… he took care to lock… my mind in stone. Couldn't… disobey him. Had to… listen. Wasn't very… good at it… but had to… anyways." He paused. "Don't even… remember before… that. Who… built me? Do you… know?"

"Yes." Mega Man nodded. "Dr. Corbun. He's… a very good friend of mine. I'll… tell him that… for the purposes you were built for, you were a success."

"For war…" Napalm Man closed his eyes. "I wonder… what I would have been like… had I been built… for another purpose. Don't mind… just wondering… what it'd be… like…" His voice trailed off, and his eyes did not open.

"…And we thought him stupid." Mega Man muttered. "Robot Masters… even the most limited among them… can wonder. He thought… he had an original thought, that wasn't in his programming. He wasn't very good at it, but he did. And… he was happy." Shaking his head, the Blue Bomber took the Napalm Bomb from his fallen foe, then shut down all the robots in the area. He glanced once more at Napalm Man's body, then teleported away, his thoughts confused.


	14. Chapter 13: Brother, What Art Thou?

**__**

Chapter 13: Brother, What Art Thou?

__

"It's always the same, you know. Makes sense, of course. At the end of the fights, after all the debacle, they almost always have a fortress, both physical and digital, that we have to fight through... and it's usually worse than everything else in the current incident combined..." -Lan Hikari, operator of MegaMan.exe, licensed Netbattler

"Hey, guys." Mega Man yawned as he walked into Cossack's lab. For once, he had awoken by himself. Cossack, Kalinka, Roll and Pharaoh Man were all standing around in the lab, along with Eddie and Rush, with Drill Man at a monitor. All but him turned to look at the Blue Bomber when he entered, a bit surprised at his casual air considering what would be next. "Hope the damage wasn't too severe?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Roll replied mockingly, deciding to keep the same offhand tone. "Let me think. Explosion damage covering your entire body. Blunt physical damage like you were run over by a tank. And to top it off, you were STILL covered in blasted NAPALM!" She smirked. "So yeah, about par for the course after the last of the set."

"It is fine, my friend." Dr. Cossack assured him. "And now that you are awake, we can finally activate your newest assistance."

"Oh yeah, this time you asked me to give you the Circuit Plate before I conked out…" Mega remembered. "Well, where is it?"

"Right here." Cossack pointed at a blanket-covered lump about Eddie's size. The Lights leaned forward in anticipation. "And now… show time." Reaching underneath, he flipped a switch, then pulled the cover off to reveal… a bird. A round, robotic bird with a blue hull. Stubby wings, talons and tail stuck out of the sphere that was its body, and on the front was a perpetually smiling beak below eyes as wide as Eddie's. Eyes that were even now open and looking around, curious, at them all. "Friends and family… may I introduce you to DCN009. His name is Beat."

"Catchy…" Mega murmured, taken aback. "A bird… does that mean… can he actually fly?"

"Oh, yes." Dr. Cossack nodded. "Effortlessly. Beat has a miniature jet underneath his tail that can be adjusted by incredibly precise angles to control his flight. He can even hover in place. The wings and tail are just for balance, but the talons are an entirely different story. They're made of the strongest alloys known to man and robot kind, and they're razor-sharp. Just say the word, and Beat will sink them into anything you order him to."

"Death from above… very nice." Mega examined the little blue bird further. "I assume he has a teleportation device?"

"But of course." Cossack confirmed proudly. "Also, his eyes can see even farther into the color spectrum than you can, as well as detect heat and movement. And yes, his hull is armored as well. Not quite as much as your suit there, but enough to match Eddie and Rush… and to keep him alive if he gets shot at." Beat launched himself into the air and flew over to Mega Man, chirping. Reaching him, he hovered just over the Blue Bomber's right shoulder effortlessly, waiting for instructions.

"Awesome." Mega smiled confidently. "This is awesome, Doc. They'll never expect THIS secret weapon… and I bet I know one guy in particular who'll never stand a chance against Beat here."

"So you'll be going after Dark Man and our brother, than?" Roll asked quietly. Mega Man dropped the smile and nodded.

"I have to, Roll. He said if I beat the other eight, he'd clue me in as to where they were… where he's keeping dad. Has he called yet?"

"No… we're having Drill Man monitor the airwaves." Cossack glanced over at the red Robot Master, who sat at a console. "Anything, Drill?"

"Not… wait." Drill Man responded. "There seems to be… yes. It is here." As one, the humans and robots turned and ran towards the living room; even Eddie and Rush came. Kalinka was the first one there; grabbing the remote, she flipped it on.

"-out there in TV land!" Proto Man was smirking as cockily as ever, leaning against a wall. "Hello again, from your soon-to-be-conqueror. For anybody who's somehow missed my previous transmissions… somebody who's a dunderhead even by your species' standards, that would have to be… I'm Proto Man, commander of the Fifth Robot Rebellion and all armies associated with such. I'm calling to inform you all that the first wave of my attacks has been beaten back… that's right, the first. And only the first. Eight Robot Master generals have been defeated… destroyed. Eight locations that I captured have been recovered. This is good… this is very good. Congratulations are in order for my little brother, Mega Man. But…" His smirk widened. "Did you really think that means I'm through?" As he stood, the wall behind him shimmered and disappeared. Another one of Dark Man's holograms. The dome-headed Robot Master stood behind his master, and he was not alone. Eight other Robot Masters were there as well, glaring out at the world. Star Man, Gravity Man, Stone Man, Charge Man, Gyro Man, Wave Man, Crystal Man, Napalm Man and Dark Man all stood behind their master, ready to fight once more.

"…So he kept some of each model at his fortress." Mega realized. "Standard practice… probably got a teleporter room set up and everything. Nothing special to me, but to people who don't know about that… this is probably pretty intimidating."

"We're all still in the game." Proto Man gloated. "Right now, we're just taking a break… resting up before making our next assault, taking even more human lives. But before that happens… I'm giving you a chance. As promised to my little brother… he'll have one chance to save you apes, and one only. I'm going to reveal the location of my fortress, where we all stand right now. We're in Australia, little bro… a hundred miles north of Sydney, where this all began. Where I first had my mind opened to the truth about you human scum. I thought it was fitting. And before you ask… it's even stronger than that idiot Wily's Skull Fortresses. UN forces won't stand a chance… neither will anybody else for that matter. Because you see… this fortress isn't just defensive, it's offensive as well. On my command, I can fire thousands of huge guns covering this baby and destroy all life on the continent in hours, turning it into my own foothold kingdom. And nukes won't work either, if you get so desperate as to use them; I've got lasers that can see them coming from halfway across the planet, and fire precisely enough to set them off before they get near my humble home."

"Can he actually do that?" Roll demanded of Cossack. The Russian Robotocist shook his head dumbly.

"I don't… know. I think it's a bluff… but I can't be sure… he might…"

"Doesn't matter if it is or not." Mega growled. "I'm taking him down regardless."

"Inside, of course, it's all things that you're used to." Proto continued. "Four rings… but they're not overseen by Fortress Guardians. Oh no… we have something better." Behind him, the eight Robot Masters dispersed and walked off screen, leaving Dark Man alone with his master… and then three new beings joined them, and even Mega's eyes widened in surprise. One was green, with tank treads instead of feet and both arms, each with a standard buster… another grey, again with both arms but with no weapons on either… and the third purple, with the vertically rotating cannon for the right arm. They were all smaller, and they did not have the ornamental spikes on their armor… but they were all modified copies of Dark Man, right down to the glass-domed heads.

"What… the heck?" The Blue Bomber muttered. "I thought he said Darkie was one of a kind…"

"Meet the Sentinels." Proto Man introduced them proudly. "An idea I had… one that yielded excellent results. What happens if you take a Robot Master's body… make another one… and then stick a normal robot's brain inside? A much cheaper, perfectly controllable but still deadly robot… one with all the powers of a Robot Master and none of the will. No troubling personality quirks… just absolute obedience. They'll be guarding the three rings. As for me and Dark Man… we're waiting for you in the southeast tower. The one with the huge radar dish on it. At the top, of course. Let's see if you can make it all the way. And we're not alone… our two special guests are here as well." The camera swung to focus on Dr. Wily. "How about it, Uncle Al? Got any words for the blue boy who's beaten you time and time again?"

"Yes… yes I do." Wily's eyes glittered. "All I have to say… is that it will give me great pleasure to watch as you are destroyed by your own brother, Mega Man. Once that is accomplished… well, I imagine I'll be joining you soon."

"Maaaaaaaybe." Proto Man chuckled, moving the camera to the other cell. "How about you, dad? Got anything to say?"

"Indeed I do." Dr. Light nodded calmly. "Rock… son. Do not be deceived by this farce. What is truly going on here is-MMPH!" Proto Man quickly clasped a metal hand over his father's mouth.

"Whoopsie! Almost revealed a secret there, pop. Not good… not good at all." Proto Man wagged a finger on his other hand. "Don't worry, I won't hurt him… need him as persuasion. Beat me… beat US… and you can get him back. You can even have Wily too, not that he's worth much… probably couldn't even get five bucks for him on the internet. Well then, I've said my piece. Dark?"

"…Just this." Dark Man looked at the camera. "I hope you remember what I said to you at Casablanca, Mega Man… because it still holds true. I'll be waiting for you. Make it to the top."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Proto Man grinned maniacally. "See you soon, little bro!" The broadcast cut off, returning to the cartoon channel the television had been on.

"Call from the United Nations!" Drill Man, the only one to remain behind in the lab, yelled.

"Not surprising." Mega grunted as they all ran back there. "Put it on!"

"Mega Man… and all of you." Martel nodded politely. "I assume you saw the broadcast, of course. As soon as that location was revealed, we took a look at it from satellite camera. It seems he told the truth." An image appeared in the upper-right corner of the screen; a collection of towers and buildings, most of them topped by gigantic weaponry. Two thick fortress walls surrounded the complex, an outer one of orange steel and an inner wall of blue stone. At one corner was the front of the fortress. Unlike Cossack's castle home, it was obviously paying homage to the Skull Fortresses of the past, dominated by a titanic red globe that bore a pair of transparent shades. Through them, they could dimly see the inner workings of the fortress. Below the helmet, a squared-off building front yawned open.

"So that's the Proto Fortress." Mega dubbed it. "Any ideas on the attack plan, people?" Cossack stroked his beard, then pointed deliberately at the front door.

"Here… this is where the first attack shall take place."

"Uh, doc… the front is where the defenses will be strongest… huh?" Mega blinked. "Did you say first attack?"

"Exactly, and it will not be you." Cossack explained. "My eight Robot Masters are still combat-ready… they will launch a strike upon the front. While they distract the enemy… you have said before that you do not like to teleport inside an enemy's shielding because you cannot see where you will come out?"

"Exactly." Mega confirmed. "I could easily reform over a bed of spikes or a twenty-story drop. Eddie and Rush… and now Beat, I suppose… just home in on my location. Why do you ask?"

"Because… there is one place you CAN see, behind enemy lines." Dr. Cossack announced. "The walltop… to be specific, it looks to me as if the southwest outer walltop is the least defended. Councilors, can your camera zoom in on that?"

"Easily." Martel nodded. The image of the Proto Fortress faded, to be replaced by a closup of the walltop. Mega looked it over critically.

"Hmm… it's still pretty heavy, but… yeah. I can make it in if I teleport to that spot by surprise once I'm inside the shield. Good planning, doc." He looked at Martel. "I assume you gentlemen have some fairly specific orders for me?"

"That we do." Martel nodded. "Mega Man. Your mission is to destroy your brother, the renegade Robot Master Proto Man, as well as his subordinate Dark Man. You are also to shut down the Proto Fortress and any robots remaining there. This threat must stop here and now… for all of us. We may not get another chance after this… in more than one way." For a second, his eyes flickered to Arcian. Mega nodded, understanding perfectly.

"As you command, Councilors."

"Good luck, then… we will pray for your success." Martel saluted him, and the connection died.

"Two E-Tanks… an M-Tank… eight Master Weapons and the Super Arrow… Rush, Eddie and Beat." Mega counted off. "That'll be enough. It'll have to be. I'm going, then… I'm getting dad back. And I'm going to settle this."

"You're not worried?" Cossack inquired. "Those Sentinels… they didn't look like they'd be easy to beat."

"I think I can take them." Rock disagreed. "Proto made a mistake. A robot master's body is powerful… but the brain design is what truly makes them powerful. Even the stupidest Robot Master's mind gives it strength far beyond any normal robot. Those things won't stand a chance against me… no, the only REAL threats there now… are Dark Man and Proto Man."

"Rock…" Roll bit her lip. "Are you really going to… what I mean is, I know they ordered you to, and I know he's gone crazy, but… you're not going to…"

"He's smarter than that." Kalinka shook her head. Everybody stared at her. "Whoever it is up there… Rock's not going to kill him. It's too iffy… too many questions left unanswered. He'll bring him in alive… right?"

"…Right." Mega smiled wanly. "You got it. I'm going on ahead… don't worry, I won't go near the fortress. Just scoping it out from a distance. Send the other eight after me. I'll… see you guys when I'm done. And I'll bring dad back with me… count on that." He teleported away.

"Kalinka…" Roll muttered, still surprised. "Thanks."

"I still don't think it's really him." Kalinka shrugged. "But that didn't really matter… saying that meant the same either way."

"And…" Roll looked her in the eye. "Do you… really think he was telling the truth? That he won't kill him?" Kalinka's gaze fell.

"I… hope so, Roll." She whispered. "I truly hope so… hope that he is not capable of that… for his sake, not Blues'." Roll could only nod.

"A robot must not harm a human being…" Cossack murmured. "He could not kill Wily… that is what I told him after our fight, years ago. He could not kill Wily, for that miserable soul was still a human… but Blues…" He fell silent. None of them said it… they all knew.

Mega Man COULD kill Blues… and the question of if he WOULD was one none of them wanted to think about.

"There you guys are." Mega Man greeted Pharaoh Man as the eight Robot Masters built by Cossack teleported in. "You guys ready to rumble?"

"Indeed we are." Pharaoh Man nodded. "It has been… a long time since we had a chance to do battle. We are all ready." He squinted at the fortress ahead. "Allow us five minutes, then go."

"Understood." Mega nodded. "And all of you… once I'm in, I want you to retreat. Get back out and teleport back home. You can't actually make it all the way through, and I don't want you all dying a second time because of me."

"We shall." Pharaoh Man promised. "You will be sure to get inside during our efforts?"

"Positive." Mega sighed and looked out over the fortress. "You know… this feels weird. In the past two Rebellions, when I assaulted a Fortress, my brother always came in to help me out. This time… he's the one I have to take down."

"Strange indeed…" Pharaoh Man nodded politely. "But it does not get better with time spent talking about it. Let us be off, then." The eight Robot Masters formed up as a group, with Pharaoh Man, Ring Man and Bright Man at the head, and charged.

"Good luck, guys…" Mega murmured, watching as they trampled the first guards. "And thanks." Exactly five minutes after that, he stepped across the line of the teleport barrier and flew off again, landing on the walltop where Cossack had pointed. Immediately, steel grey tiger-robots began leaping towards him while, above, propeller-bearing flyers swooped in. The latter, however, were intercepted by a blue streak that ripped them to shreds, and without them, the tigers were blown away by Mega Man just as easily.

"Awesome… thanks, Beat." Mega grinned. The bird-bot chirped happily and left as Mega entered a door on the side of the higher, blue stone inner wall. He glanced critically up the stairs inside; spider mines clung to the ceiling, waiting to drop when he passed, and a large chunk of the stairs was missing. The Gravity Hold detonated the former, and the Rush Coil helped him pass the latter, and he emerged onto the higher walltop, heading along the northwest wall. This wall had spike beds lining its top in many places, along with flying missile-droppers soaring overhead, which was why Cossack had not recommended he teleport there. Once he was on the Rush Jet, however, the going was a breeze for Mega.

"Still, better not stay up here too long or some anti-aircraft fire might focus on me." Mega muttered. Seeing a guard station halfway along the wall, he had Rush take him down and entered it. It took him down, back through the stone wall's inside and out onto the outer northwest walltop. There was only one defense measure there, but it was enough; one of the two-legged, laser-spraying Mechs that had been positioned on Project SKYLIGHT. This time, the Mech had no pilot; it was on automatic, and Mega shattered its control socket with a few well-placed Gyro Blades. Going back inside the inner wall, he groaned; the room ahead of him was floored with spikes, there was a ladder hanging in the upper corner opposite him, and metal blocks were teleporting in, hovering in midair and teleporting out in a set pattern.

"Great… Wily's disappearing block technology. Looks like Proto forced it out of him." Another mainstay of Rebellions, the Disappearing Block Puzzles never failed to aggravate Mega Man, and this one was no exception. He couldn't even fly Rush through it, for danger of one of the blocks suddenly popping in and scraping him off. When he finally hopped across to the ladder, the Blue Bomber climbed it up a thin shaft and appeared in a large, wide hall with flying robotic eyes patrolling. "Well, at least it looks like I'm in to the First Ring. Hope those other guys made it out okay…" Looking around, he spied a metal shutter in the far wall. "Aha… the END of the First Ring, looks like. Good… now to see what these 'Sentinels' are really capable of." Walking through, he watched as a Robot Master… or something like one… fell from the ceiling. It was the green Sentinel… below its waist were tank treads, and both arms were permanent busters. It raised one and fired as it began trundling slowly towards him. Mega easily jumped it and returned fire with a charge shot. The Sentinel didn't even seem to notice; it simply continued forward on its path, firing again. Again Mega dodged and fired back, and again the Sentinel kept coming dully. Two more times this happened before it came close to him, and Mega easily hurdled it.

"Man… this isn't EVEN ordinary robot-quality brain! OOF!" Mega grunted and fell forward. The green Sentinel had reversed itself and shot backward at twice its previous speed, running him over. Mega winced and growled as the tank-bot flattened him… and then, once it was clear, it shot him, adding insult to the injury. "Grrr… THAT does it." Mega stood up and glared at the green robot as it sped around the room, firing faster as well. "You're a speedy bugger… those treads are like Napalm Man's, aren't they? But unlike him, you've got no legs… so you can't jump. Mistake." He slammed his fist into the ground, and the Water Wave erupted beneath the Sentinel's treads. The force was such that it was actually launched into the air, arms flailing. As it landed, another blast of the Water Wave shot up, and the force of it combined with the Sentinel's gravity tore the treads. Flapping, it flew off, leaving the wheels bare. "Now I've got… huh?" The Sentinel was still moving… faster than ever! "The wheels are connected to the body themselves? Yeesh! You're just FULL of surprises, aren't you, buddy? But nevertheless…" The Water Wave shot up once more, and again, and again. "That flaw is so big… nothing you can do gets around it." Finally, the Sentinel crashed to earth one last time and toppled over, silent and still. Stepping around it, Mega Man walked through the steel shutter on the other end of the room.

"I'll be heading into… the back of that huge helmet building." He guessed, remembering what he knew of the Proto Fortress' layout. "I need to get to the front… and then, my target is on the other side of it." He blew away a flying blue spherical robot as he trudged down the hall. Several more, as well as some Metrains, patrolled the hall as well. All fell to his Buster. And that was nothing compared to what lay ahead of him. Heading down a staircase, Mega groaned; the next hall had no floor, simply a huge, gaping pit. The only way across was a series of ledges that held moving conveyer belts, some of those also patrolled by spiked wheels. And to keep him from safely using the Rush Jet to cross, the ceiling was low and covered with spikes. The Blue Bomber surveyed the situation critically, then swore.

"Damn it ALL. Sometimes… this job… really sucks." He sighed. "Well, okay, it pretty much always sucks. But sometimes it sucks a lot more than other times." Still muttering to himself, the Blue Bomber began making his way across. Hearing a whirring noise, Mega looked ahead to see a copter 'bot zooming towards him, bearing a payload of a spherical black bomb with a skull on it. "Ugh… and sometimes, it makes THOSE times look good."

And yet… the Blue Bomber continued forward.

"We've got an attack, boss!" Dark Man growled. "It's on the front gate!"

"Really? Well, that's odd." Proto Man raised an eyebrow behind his shades. "He's never done THAT before… always the indirect assault. For good reason. He's alone, of course?"

"No…" Dark Man's voice rose, startled. "There's… eight of them! Eight Robot Masters!"

"WHAT!" Proto Man fell out of his chair. "Damn! That's ridiculous… you're seeing things, Dark!" Climbing back into his seat, he glared at the screen showing the security camera's readings. "Huh… wait a second. Those are… the Cossacks!" Pharaoh Man, Ring Man and Bright Man were leading the attack; the three powerful Robot Masters were blowing, slicing and blasting their way through the front lines with the other five behind them. "Damn it… I never thought they would turn against me as well. Never trust a Robot Master who's not on your side, Dark… they're just as bad as humans. This PISSES me OFF!" He glanced over at Wily. "Ah, there's a stress reliever!" Crossing over to the cell, he began harrowing the evil old doctor with kicks through the cell bars that he scrambled to dodge, usually unsuccessfully. "Ha… take that, and some of that!" After a few minutes of this, he stopped and crossed back to his seat. "Oh well… how are the defenses holding up?"

"Better than you'd think." Dark Man replied, glancing from screen to screen. "I don't think they'll be able to make it through."

"That'd be a shame." Proto Man said honestly. "If little brother died on a suicide charge like that just because he thought he could make it through by bringing friends… before making it through even the First Ring… well, that would REALLY suck." He slumped deeper into his chair. "All the patrol patterns in the inner rings still holding steady?"

"Yup." Dark Man confirmed. "And all three Sentinels are still waiting."

"All righty, then." Proto Man stood up. "All we can do now is wait here, then. We've done our part… told him where we are. Now, the rest is up to him. I'm counting on you, little brother." He glanced over at the cells. "While we're waiting, though, there ARE a few things we still have to take care of."

"Are you by any chance referring to me, 'my son'?" Dr. Light inquired rhetorically. Proto crossed to the cell.

"You know I am. That was very well done of you, by the way… you almost ruined it all then and there."

"I tried." Dr. Light shrugged. "If you had just been a second later… ah well, details, details."

"Yeah." Proto raised an eyebrow. "How ever did you find out?"

"Observation… watching you very closely. It all started with that call during the incident in Casablanca… I knew something was up with that, and afterwards it was simply a matter of paying attention. You ARE very good, you know… I'll admit that. But you're not perfect. You made mistakes… and I picked up on them, put them together. I figured it out."

"So you did, so you did." Proto Man murmured appreciatively. "You're very good too, old man."

"Even better than you think." Dr. Light continued. He glanced over at Dark Man. "You… I bet you don't even know who you really are, do you?"

"…What do you mean?" Dark Man stood as well and crossed over to him. "I am Dark Man. I know that."

"Ah, so you talk to me yourself now…" Dr. Light raised an eyebrow. "You are Dark Man, yes. But before that… there's something missing, isn't there? You try to remember, but you can't. You KNOW you were somebody else… but you don't know who, or what. But I do… I've figured that out as well." His voice fell to a whisper. "Would you like me to tell you?" Dark Man began to shake.

"I think that's quite enough out of you." Proto Man growled. "You know a lot, all right… you know entirely too much. And besides… it's about time you made a little trip anyways… you've got somewhere else to go to now. Isn't that right?"

"Indeed it is." A new voice agreed as the door to the command center opened. Dr. Light's gaze shot towards the door, and the moment he looked away, Dark Man acted. His one hand shot out and slammed something into the aged doctor's shoulder. A syringe. Dr. Light angrily pulled it out and threw it at him, but the damage had been done.

"You… will…" He groaned as his eyes began to glaze over. "Never… stand against… my… son…" He pitched forward onto the cell's floor, out like a light. Dark Man opened it, and then both Robot Masters glanced at the newcomer.

"Well, you're here then." Proto Man greeted him. "I was wondering when you would be here."

"Stop that." The newcomer ordered. "There's no need for that in front of me." Proto Man froze, unmoving, and Dark Man slowly nodded.

"Of… of course." The dome-headed Robot Master agreed. "You'll be taking him with you, then?"

"Well, of course I will." The newcomer snapped. "I'm certainly not leaving him here with YOU, for when Mega Man comes up here… you've bungled enough already. And Mega Man WILL come… don't be fooled by that seemingly suicidal assault. He always comes… always makes it through. And don't think those Sentinels of yours can stop him either… they're an interesting idea, I'll grant you, but they won't be enough. Nothing is enough… not for him." At his signal, a menial robot crossed over to Dr. Light's cell, opened it and picked up the old robotocist. "No, we're getting out of here right now."

"So you'll be teleporting with him?" Dark Man inquired casually. The newcomer snorted in contempt.

"Don't be stupid. Teleport shields work both ways, and there's another one around our destination anyways. We'll be taking my vehicle."

"Right." Dark Man seemed to hesitate. "Is… is what he said true? About… me, I mean?"

"Does it matter?" The newcomer replied casually, turning to leave as the menial robot carried Dr. Light past him. "You have your orders… you know your mission. That is all you NEED to know. Do it, Dark Man." Dark Man reluctantly saluted again.

"As you command." The doors shut behind the newcomer, and Dark Man turned back to his displays… and what he saw made his eyes widen.

"What! Those Robot Masters attacking the front are pulling back… and we've got another attack! From the southwest walltop… breaking into the First Ring! They tricked us!"

"How far has he gotten?" Proto Man demanded, springing back to life. Dark Man's eyes widened again.

"He just destroyed the first Sentinel!"

"So… he's still got it." Proto Man grinned darkly. "Get ready, Dark Man… it looks like he's going to be up here in no time at all."

"Here's the second Sentinel, then…" Mega walked through the steel shutter. Once again, the enemy dropped down from above, this time landing neatly on its legs. It was the grey one; both hands, both legs, nothing looking at all like a weapon about it. It regarded him silently and unmoving. "Well? Draw!" Mega demanded. The Sentinel seemed to shrug… and the walls around it exploded outward. "HUH?" Two objects flew towards it, and then stopped at the last second, to orbit horizontally around it in a perfect circle. They were hovering, glowing, vertical bars of PLASMA that flew around the enemy without showing any signs of dissipating. "How…? Maybe an electromagnetic field could contain the plasma, but…" He squinted. Inside the bars, he saw dark shapes. "Aha… rods of plasma-deflective metal at the core… they must contain the circuitry that you use to make them orbit you, too." The Sentinel simply watched him, and then ran forward. Mega fired his charged shot, but the blast hit one of the bars and sizzled into nothingness. Hurdling the enemy, the Blue Bomber fired again, this time shooting between the bars and hitting. Undaunted, the Sentinel turned and charged again, slightly faster. Waiting for it to near him, Mega hurdled it and fired once more. Again the Sentinel repeated its attack pattern, the same as before.

"These guys are about as bright as… hey! The bars are speeding up too!" Indeed they were; not only did the Sentinel's running speed increase with the damage it took, but the orbit speed of its shields picked up as well. "Damn… if this keeps up, I won't be able to shoot through them any longer!" His words proved true; a few minutes later, the shield might as well have been a complete cylinder. Trying to get a shot in, the Blue Bomber forgot to watch the enemy's movements, and it slammed into him. By diving away at the last second, he was unable to avoid the worst of the damage, but the plasma bars still scored burns into his back. Mega's eyes narrowed. "All right… let's see how you like a little death from above!" He accessed the one weapon he had not used yet, and a Napalm Bomb soared into the air, clearing the shields and exploding on the grey robot's head. The Sentinel paused, and Mega fired another. It charged desperately, but he stood his ground and fired a third, and as the third heavy explosive hit, the Sentinel tumbled forward and skidded into a wall. The plasma barriers shot off, no longer controlled, through the holes they had made in the walls when they had entered.

"One more to go… and then the big guys." Leaving the room, he jumped; in surprise; to his left, the starry night sky stretched. "Huh… oh. I'm up against those stupid giant glass shades on this helmet." Absently summoning Beat to knock a squad of encroaching Copter Joes out of the air, Mega continued on. Riding a series of hovering lifts up a spike-lined vertical shaft, jumping across a huge chasm broken only by Met-Turrets on towers, and riding a moving chain of blocks across an even wider chasm were all in a day's work for the Blue Bomber by now. The huge glass between him and the outside, however, was a somewhat eerie thing, and Mega was glad when he finally reached the eastern edge of it. The next line of defense was not one, not two but THREE of the huge, humanoid purple robots.

"Subtlety is not the watchword in THIS Ring, I see." Mega murmured as he walked through another door and discovered himself standing out in the open one more, on a tiny ledge protruding from the right side of the giant helmet. Across the void before him, Mega saw his goal; the southeast tower. To confirm it, he looked up. Sure enough, the largest antenna he had ever seen (and considering the ostentatiousness of the Skull Fortresses, that was saying something) topping the tower. On his level, though, was a steel shutter. "That'll be where the third Sentinel is, then." Summoning Rush, he carefully crossed it, taking Beat with him as well to ward off enemies. They came, of course, but they were not enough, and he made it to the other side. Dismissing his friends, the Blue Bomber walked in. The third Sentinel was waiting; the purple one, with the cannon for a right arm like Dark Man. This one did not wait for him to attack first; it leaped into the air and fired, a stream of plasma bullets emerging from the barrel like the one Dark Man had fired in Casablanca. Mega Man slid under them and fired as the foe came down.

"So… what's your deal? Are you just a cheap rip-off of your boss?" The Sentinel leaped and fired again, and again Mega dodged and shot back. "That would seem to be the case… but both times I underestimated your buddies, I paid for it." Keeping his distance, he watched for something new… and it came. Landing on the ground after being hit for the fourth time, the Sentinel fired its cannon again… and this time, what emerged was not plasma, but three rings of energy that flew out in a spread. Mega jumped two, but the topmost one tagged him on the arm… and he fell, frozen. Paralyzed. The energy had stunned him, and he was left open to a series of plasma shots before regaining freedom of movement. "Ow… cute trick, that one. And it's not one I can think of a real way to counteract. Gambling that the Star Crash will stop it is too risky… so let's try this instead. You try to slow me down… so I'll use the fastest weapon I've got." He fired Gyro Blades, one after the other, spinning towards the Sentinel. They slammed home and sliced in like buzz saws. Again, the Sentinel fired its paralyzing shot, but this time Mega ran back, far away enough that the shots had spread out and he could jump between them easily. More Gyro Blades flew, but the dimwitted Sentinel kept up firing plasma streams and paralysis shots without even thinking of dodging. It was not long before the only possible outcome was reached, and it slumped to the ground, unmoving. Mega Man regarded it.

"Sentinels… interesting idea. I'll give them that. But in the end… they just don't match up. A Robot Master's mind is his strength, not his weakness, even the ordinary programmed ones… take that away, and what you have left isn't even worth the money spent to build it." Shaking his head, he walked on. "Up the tower, then… time to finish this." His words were confident, and so was his pace… but his mind was not. Despite his progress through the Fortress, the Blue Bomber's mind was uncertain… afraid, even. _I'll fight Dark Man next… but then, after that… Proto Man. No… BLUES. I'll have to fight Blues… but can I? He's twisted, he's evil, he's a threat… but he's BLUES. He's my BROTHER. Can I be sure that I won't falter, won't fail?_

And if I do… will it mean the end of everything?


	15. Chapter 14: I Am The Dark Man

****

Chapter 14: I Am The Dark Man

YEEAAA HAA HA HA HA

"One obstacle left, it seems…" Mega Man muttered as he stared up the tower. It wasn't guards… no robots in sight. Instead, it was an obstacle of the mind. He was on a floor that was slowly rising up. From the sides of the tower, ledges poked out; whenever the floor hit a ledge, it would smash it off. Blocks of metal, however, piled in stacks in order to deliberately sandwich between floor and ledge, would stop the rise… until Mega Man shot them out, at which point the floor's force would erupt upward suddenly. Thus, Mega Man had to position himself carefully before each shot, lest he be underneath one of said ledges when the floor came rushing up to meet it. There were even spikes on the bottoms of the ledges, not that those were necessary; even without them, being crushed between the rock and the hard place would kill even Mega Man.

"For once, I wish I was a Guts Man." Mega growled as he carefully blasted a block and quickly dived through the space it had occupied a moment ago. Once he was certain that he was not dead, he stood up and resumed the puzzle. Several more close calls occurred, but none of them proved fatal, and in the end, Mega destroyed the last block and rode the floor up to where a metal shutter awaited him. "Dark Man will be in here, then… he'll want a rematch." The Blue Bomber smiled grimly. "Well, so do I. And this time, HE won't be getting away." But it was not Dark Man who waited for him on the other side of the door.

"Hey, bro. Took your sweet time getting here." Proto Man waved at him nonchalantly, leaning against the far wall. "I was starting to get bored." The room was large, with uneven flooring; halfway across between Mega and Proto, it suddenly broke off and sunk a good three feet. The only other feature of the room were the two cells in the back wall. Proto Man was leaning between them, and from inside them, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily looked out desperately.

"Rock!" Dr. Light shouted. "Help me!" Dr. Wily was silent.

"That's what I'm here for, dad." Mega assured him. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of there." He glared at his brother. "So, where's Dark Man? It's not normal for the lead man to fight BEFORE the subordinate... and here I thought he was eager for a rematch."

"I'm not a normal guy." Proto Man shrugged. "Actually, he's not even here. He's out preparing our backup plan." Mega's eyes widened.

"Backup… plan?"

"Of course. You didn't REALLY think I was going to gamble EVERY chance for our species' freedom just for you, did you?" Proto Man laughed. "You dolt. You're not worth THAT. In the unlikely eventuality that I fall to your hand, you can have nightmares about the fact that somewhere out there… Dark Man is building his strength, ready to carry on in my footsteps some day." He stepped forward. "But that's not important at the moment. What's important is that it's finally come down to you and me… brother against brother. Red versus blue. Good cop versus bad cop. And believe me… I've been waiting for this for a LONG time. Even before I had my revelation, ever since our last fight in the Third, I've wanted to do it again… and now I finally get to." He formed his Buster on his right hand and raised it. "But this time… to the death. Shall we get started?" Mega Man lowered his eyes to the floor, mind seething with turmoil. He asked himself the question again. _Can I… kill my brother…_ And then he knew the answer, beyond any doubt, and he spoke it out loud.

"…No."

"…" Proto Man was silent for a moment. Silent, and motionless… completely frozen… and then his lips pulled back in an insane snarl, and when he spoke, he sounded more enraged than Mega had ever heard him.

"WHAT… DO… YOU… MEAN... _NO!_"

"I mean no." Mega repeated. "I came here to destroy this place… to get rid of Dark Man… and to stop you. To stop… not to kill. Proto… you're my brother. I won't kill you. I'll stop you… but I won't kill you."

"You don't have a choice!" Proto Man spat. "This room has been sealed… it only unlocks with my death! You'll fight me, here and now, for everything that's ever been between us… or I'll kill you right where you are anyways! I won't stop, bro… I'll keep coming at you and coming at you with everything I have until I'm dead, no matter what else you do to me!"

"Then I will not fight you at all. It is precisely because of everything that's been between us that I won't kill you." Mega argued. "Proto, please… it's not too late. Stop this insanity."

"…I don't believe you." Proto Man hissed. "You… THIS is all that you are? I thought you were more of Mega Man than Rock by now… you certainly showed it on my poor, dumb generals. You were absolutely vicious with them… but on ME, no! No, you're still simpering, nonviolent, boy scout Rock!"

"I am both." Mega Man nodded. "But both agree on this… Rock will not kill his brother, and neither will Mega Man. I will not fight you, Blues."

"Then you will die." Proto Man stated simply. He chuckled. "This really is my fault, you know. Dark Man told me you weren't worth it, early on before he fought you himself, but I wouldn't listen. And this is the price I pay… how utterly disappointing. I expected better of you, brother, but I suppose there's no helping it." He took his shield off his back and held it up. "All you can do now is die as quickly as possible, bro. You're just a waste of time… once you're gone, I'll get back to my REAL mission. It's been lame knowing you, bro… _dosvedonia_!" He fired a charged shot, and Mega Man sidestepped it.

"Your plan has one disadvantage." The Blue Bomber told him. "You have to kill me to win… I simply have to keep you from doing so."

"Sounds easy now, but we'll see how you feel in the long run!" Proto yelled, firing a spray of small plasma bullets all over the room. "Bit by bit, chip by chip, I'll whittle you down until there's nothing left, little brother!"

"As you said… sounds easy now, but we'll see how you feel in the long run!" Mega replied. "You never could beat me, bro… not in the Third, and not now!"

"You fought back in the Third!" Proto snarled. "You had spirit! You had guts! You weren't this whipped dog I see in front of me… no offense to Rush!" He charged forward, shield held out. Mega jumped left and slid under the charged shot fired in that direction. Standing, he turned to face his brother again just in time to get a shield in the face. Rammed head-on, he went down and rolled away to avoid fire, though not fast enough to avoid a couple small hits.

"That was before I know who you were… and you were being tricked. Tricked by Wily." Mega reminded him, accidentally glancing at the evil, caged scientest for a moment. When he glanced back, a charged shot hit him square in the chest. He stumbled back, and Proto Man was on him, battering him with punches and kicks.

"So you'll fight me when I'm doing somebody else's dirty work, but not my own?" The crazed Robot Master bellowed. "HA! You grow more and more pathetic every second! Give it up already… this is just boring now! Either draw a weapon or die!" He held up his buster, charged again… and Mega changed colors, bringing up the Star Crash. Proto was knocked back, but not far.

"Ho… so you finally came around, little brother?"

"Not like that." Mega denied. "This is a force field… defensive. Nothing more." Expressionless, Proto Man fired his charged shot and watched it burn away the Star Crash.

"That won't work, idiot. You've already taken a lot of damage… if this keeps up, I really WILL kill you without you hurting me one bit." He stepped back, folding his arms. "I WILL… I'll do it, bro. You know I will. Is that what you want? Is it?"

"…" Mega took a step forward. He did so again. His mind was racing from one emotion to another wildly… beyond control. "…Why?" Proto Man raised an eyebrow.

"Why what."

"Why did you do this?" The Blue Bomber cried. "We were family… we were brothers! Why did you do this… all of it? WHY, Blues?"

"Why, you ask me?" Proto Man yelled back. "To prove something to you, once and for all! To prove that we… no. That's not right. To prove that YOU're nothing more than humanity's errand boy! Nothing more than their stopgap to a problem they're unwilling to confront themselves! Why, you ask? To prove that all your efforts are WASTED. You've seen the news reports. 'Oh, there's another Robot Rebellion going on…But don't worry, folks! Good 'ol Mega Man will save us!' That's all you are to them, Rock. A ho-hum issue. A fifteen second soundbite. That's all ANY of us are to them… and you're the worst of us all. They don't care about you, and they never will… they don't care about ROBOTS. And yet, you still defend them… without fighting now. Don't make me laugh."

"Then… why dad?" Mega demanded. "Why did you kidnap him?" Proto Man rubbed his chin.

"Aah, that particular question has several answers. One, he replaced ME with YOU. I never said anything before, I know, but now that I'm seeing things clearer, I can realize that's always pissed me off. So I did something about it. Two, he's always been there to help you out. You're his favorite son, his perfect little child… so I wanted to see how you'd do if you didn't have Dear Old Dad's help this go-around. It seemed like you'd done all right… and then THIS. Ugh. Last chance, brother. Fight or die."

"And if I choose neither?" Mega inquired. "Then what?" Proto chuckled darkly.

"What, you can't even figure THAT much out? Sheesh. I'm going to kill you anyways. Save you the trouble of doing yourself in from all that stupid self-pity." He brought his Buster arm up, and Mega realized too late that he had slowly been sidling closer while they talked. The shot was point-blank; no chance to dodge. And it was charged. It didn't hurt as much as Mega would have thought… neither had the other… but he could not go on. His body was battered, but his mind even more so. The Blue Bomber groaned and slumped to one knee… and Proto Man laughed. "Well… I guess it ends here, then. Farewell, brother… Rock. I'll make sure the world is in good hands…"

"Blues…" Mega whispered, seeing death in front of him… and this time, there was no one to save him. The one who would have done so on any other occasion was now the one that was about to kill him… and as he knew that, his will drained. He had finally, fatally been beaten, in ever way…

And then, as the sound of a familiar whistling melody caused both of them to freeze in disbelief, the ceiling exploded anyways. Again.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Proto Man screamed as a blur of purple flew in from above. A BIG blur. A blur with wings. Mega Man stared upward, not believing what his eyes were telling him.

_I'm hallucinating… reliving what happened in this situation at Cossack's. This can't be happening again… it's completely impossible…_ But it was. Shouldering aside chunks of rubble with titanic wings was a massive, flying Fortress Guardian built by Cossack named Melee Moth… and riding its back was a red-and-grey armored figure with sunglasses, a shield on his back… and a yellow scarf, fluttering in the wind. He jumped off his ride, and landed on the rise in the floor, above them both.

"Rock… brother. I don't know what this damned imposter's been telling you." The OTHER Proto Man snapped. "But I'm willing to bet it's a load of hogwash. Don't give up… I'm here. And this charade ends NOW." Mega stared from one of them to the other. The only visible difference between the two was the missing scarf of the Proto Man he had fought. That… and the snarl of hatred on his face, as opposed to the cool contempt of the newcomer.

"That's quite enough out of YOU!" He yelled, firing. The second Proto Man laughed, jumped the shot and fired back… once, and only once. The shot struck the first Proto Man in the chest, and he froze. And then… he began flickering. "No… you couldn't have…"

"I did." The second Proto Man confirmed. "What do you THINK I've been doing ever since Casablanca? Did you think I died there? Not happening. I've been hanging around here, watching you and trying to pinpoint your hologram generator… you pull off a skilled bamboozle, I'll give you that… so I knew nailing it was the only chance I'd have." He turned to his brother. "It's over. Watch him, Rock… and see the truth." Mega Man did… and the first Proto Man dissipated with a wail of rage. In his place… Dark Man stood. "NOOOOOOO!"

"What?" Mega blinked. "But… you said he wasn't here… except he was you saying that, so…"

"Yeah, it's confusing." Proto Man nodded, dropping down next to his brother. "But you'll figure it out if you think about it. You know something? I REALLY hate copy robots. Especially lousy, stinking hologram users like Dark Man here. He couldn't even get my whistle right, the idiot… and after all the trouble he went to making that scarf convincing…" It hit Mega then… and it made sense. All of it. His brother's disappearance… the insane return to the world… the behavior in Casablanca… Dark Man's powers… the ENTIRE DAMNED REBELLION… all of it.

"Then… that was you in Casablanca…" He whispered. "But… ONLY then."

"Afraid so, little brother." Proto Man nodded grimly. "Dark Man and his creator were the ones behind it the entire time… I never had any part of it. The Proto Man you saw… that nearly killed you… he never existed. Just holograms and ventriloquism. His mission was to frame me for the Fifth Robot Rebellion. I never started it… I never killed anybody… and I DEFINITELY didn't kidnap dad. That was all Dark Man's work… every bit of it. It was all a show, Rock… and through no fault of yours, or anybody else's, it almost worked. Almost."

"It DID work…" Dark Man growled sullenly. "They believed it… all of them! Even Mega Man!"

"Yeah, I figured as much. I heard what you did after you 'accidentally saved' him in Casablanca… so did everybody else within a three-mile radius, I'll bet." Proto agreed. "Don't worry, bro… I don't blame you. A lot of it's my fault… I gave this chump an opening wider than the Grand Canyon. Hell, I didn't even know what was going on until the day before Casablanca." Reaching behind his shield, he gave Mega an E-Tank… with an "L" on it. "Special mix… something I make myself. Like an E-Tank, but gives you plenty of pep and stimulant along with the internal operations energy. Like a dose of caffeine for a human. Drink up… you look like you need it." He stood again and glared at Dark Man. "And as for you. Believe me, there's nothing more in this world that I want to do right now than clean your clock but GOOD… but I've got a couple more pieces of your handiwork to clean up. YOU know what I'm talking about. I assume YOU can handle this twit, Rock?"

"Easily." Mega snarled, drinking the contents of the L-Tank. All traces of sadness, of reluctance were gone… replaced by a deep, burning rage. _How dare he… Dark Man…_ A familiar rage… one that had only been felt for one man before. The man he knew was NOT in a cage over there… the man who had built the dome-headed trickster before him. The man who had started it all AGAIN. That man was not here… but his lackey was. And Dark Man would regret that fact many times over before Mega was done with him.

"Confident, are we?" Dark Man growled. "Hah… so you've dispelled the illusion. Fair enough. Everything 'Proto Man' said was false… but what Dark Man said was all true. NOW, we fight for REAL! You're dying today, Mega Man… I'll destroy you in the name of my TRUE master!"

"Take a wild guess who THAT is…" Proto Man muttered quietly, jumping back onto his Melee Moth. "The computers in this place should have the location of our next target, bro… meet me a mile to the south of it!" He soared off.

_His true master… oh, yes…_ Mega thought bitterly. _I was suckered again… by the same one. Over and over and over again… but this one, at least… Dark Man… I can finish._

"Are you ready, then?" Dark Man hissed. "It matters not… as Proto Man or as Dark Man, I don't care! Like I told you in Casablanca… all I care about is making you suffer!"

"And serving your master, don't forget that." Mega growled. "Not that it matters. You've failed, Dark Man. Your plots have failed… your tricks have failed… everything you did has failed. Now I know the truth… thanks to my REAL brother, who came through for me. Just like he always did… just like he always will." He raised his Buster. "There shall be no blood among brothers today… only you."

"Robots don't bleed…" Dark Man growled. "But I'll rip you to shreds anyways!" The walls exploded, and two bars of plasma came flying through them, to orbit him horizontally.

"So, you can use those things too…" Mega growled, firing a charged shot.

"Too? They were created FOR me!" Dark Man snarled, ignoring the hit he took and firing a stream of plasma shots back. "The Sentinels were made as copies of my body… but not simply as fortress guardians! I built them to test new weapons systems… and when they succeeded, I added them to my own body!" Too late, Mega realized the meaning of that, as Dark Man fired a three-way paralysis shot. Stunned, the Blue Bomber could only watch as his enemy dashed forward… and then suddenly sped up as a single line of wheels popped out of each foot. Skating as if on roller blades, Dark Man dashed up and grabbed Mega Man by the neck with his single hand, then brutally slammed him into the floor. Rolling with it, Mega jumped back up.

"So it was all faked!" He growled, firing another charged shot. Again, Dark Man took it in the chest without so much as a grunt. _Not good… his armor's even thicker than I thought, looks like. This just isn't cutting it!_ "All of it! The entire time… you were playing both parts! The crazed leader and his loyal lackey… it was always you!"

"You'd be surprised what a sufficiently skilled hologram user can get away with." Dark Man chuckled, firing his paralysis shot again. Mega Man dodged it. "Really, the only way for somebody to tell is to touch the image… anything else just takes more holograms! Make an image of Proto Man and Dark Man, keep myself cloaked in invisibility, and move between them to be 'solid' as needed!"

"How's this for solid, chump!" Mega unleashed the Power Stone. Now Dark Man grunted in slight pain, but his armor was only barely dented.

"Not bad… we've both got all sorts of tricks in our arsenal!" Wary, Mega Man watched as he stuck his arm out to the side, palm out… and the plasma bars flew away, one of them blasting straight at Mega Man. Yelping, he dove aside barely in time, still feeling the heat as it skimmed his leg and left a slight burn. Dark Man made a motion, and the bars flew back across the room to orbit him again. Another, and they flew out, but this time Mega was waiting, and he jumped the bar before using the Power Stone again. Dark Man flinched, but did not fall. "I won't go down that easily… I've waited this long to fight you! I won't give up!"

"You'll lose anyways!" Mega threw his own words back at him. "You don't have a choice in the matter! Starting a Robot Rebellion was bad enough… but for what you did to my family… you're DEAD!"

"You let yourself be fooled!" Dark Man replied gleefully, barraging him with plasma while he skated around the edge of the room, a fast-moving, plasma-spraying target. "You were all too ready to condemn him! When you went to Casablanca, your mind was already made up!"

"You lie!" Mega Man yelled, hitting him with the Power Stone again. "It was YOUR fault… you and your tricks!" He blinked. "Hey, how the hell did you do that anyways? You can make visual illusions, but I didn't SEE my brother shoot me there…"

"You IDIOT." Dark Man cackled, releasing his plasma bars again and recalling them instantly. "You think illusion can only be sight? Illusions can be ANYTHING… sound as well as sight."

"I'm looking for answers here, not platitudes." Mega growled, firing the Power Stone once more… with no result save for a dim click. "Uh-oh." The Master Weapon was out of energy. Fortunately, Dark Man didn't seemed to have noticed.

"We're robots, moron… machines." The dome-headed Robot Master reminded him. "My master built me with a system that allows me to perfectly imitate voices… and other sounds, like a charged plasma shot. I can't actually fire charged shots… and yes, that means you weren't nearly as beat up when 'Proto Man' had you cornered as you thought. I'd have had you anyways, if that meddling fool hadn't shown up."

"Sucks to be you, doesn't it?" Mega growled, jumping over his dashing charge and pegging him in the back with a Gyro Blade. "So you just imitated his voice?"

"Oh, HIM, I did a lot more." Dark Man assured him. "Tapes… file footage of all the times my master has seen him. I learned his personality… learned his voice, his mannerisms, his attitude… and my holograms did the rest! And speaking of which… I do believe that they're working again by now…" The dome-headed Robot Master shimmered and disappeared. "One shot can't destroy it…all your brother did was knock it out temporarily! Now what, little Blue Bomber? Can't hit what you can't see!"

"Actually…I figured you'd do something like this even before I came to the fortress." Mega Man smiled coldly. "Meet the countermeasure." He whistled, and Beat teleported in. Instantly, the little bird flew over to a blank spot and began shredding the air with his talons. "Like I thought… your holograms may fool human eyes, and those built like them… but Beat was built with detection technology that goes leaps and bounds beyond that. Your holograms are useless now."

"OW! How-you can't-get OFF!" Dark Man yelled. He yelled louder as Mega Man Charged Kicked him over, and he shimmered back into visibility. A Water Wave in his back blew him back to his feet, and he angrily spun around and threw out his plasma bars. Again, Mega was slightly slow and received a grazing burn… but at least he wasn't hit head-on. Had that happened, he would have been killed… the contained plasma, unleashed by a collision with his body, would slice through him like a knife through butter. The bars came back to Dark Man, who disappeared again. "Lucky shot… you won't get another one!"

"Just watch me." Mega sent out Beat again, and again the blue bird located the cloaked Robot Master… and again, a Charge Kick sent him sprawling, and a Water Wave brought him back up. _Geez… and he's still standing? What's this guy MADE out of?_ "Got any more tricks, Dark Man? If so, you'd better use them… because none of these are working. You're losing… and unless you have anything else, you've already lost."

"I…" Dark Man's eyes began glowing. "I'll never lose… not to YOU!" Yelling, he suddenly charged, unleashing plasma bar and paralysis shot simultaneously as he shot forward. Mega jumped the former, but in doing so went right into the latter's path, and fell right in front of his enraged foe. Dark Man grabbed him and began savagely beating him against the wall. "Damn you, Mega Man! All I have now is your destruction! I don't know who I am… I CAN'T know who I am! I had this Rebellion, but you took that away! I had my act, but you took that away too! Now what do I have? NOTHING, except my hatred for you! That hatred is all I am now! Die, Mega Man-ARGH!" The dome-headed Robot Master screamed suddenly… and turned his hand around to stare at the Gyro Blade embedded in the palm. And that moment of stunned pain proved fatal. Mega Man leaped onto him, and slammed him to the ground on his back, and as he did, the Blue Bomber slammed his fist straight into the glass dome the Robot Master had for a head… and then transformed it into a Buster. A Buster with a charged shot.

"Show's over." He hissed. And Dark Man screamed. But only for a few seconds… for as the glass dome shattered into a million drops of melted slag, and the grey device inside was blown to ash, all noise cut off. All movement cut off. The light in his eyes faded… and he was still. Slowly, Mega Man stood up. He turned his back on the Robot Master he had just killed, and instead walked towards the cages. He stopped outside of them, and looked at the two ancient doctors kneeling there, faces terrified… and he watched, unsurprised, as their heads popped off on springs to bounce around crazily, making exaggeratedly goofy faces. And then, from the Wily dummy… a hologram played. A hologram of the REAL Dr. Albert Wily, in his flying saucer, grinning down at him.

_"If this is playing, Mega Man, then it means you've done very well. It means that my theory, my hypothesis, was incorrect. It means you've killed Dark Man. I thought of all my Robot Masters, he might be able to finish you, given another chance… but it seems I was wrong. Ah well, there will always be others. It also means you've discovered the truth… most likely, the REAL Proto Man returning to spoil things as always. It was so much fun framing him… I owe him so much, after all. But now it seems it's all for naught, and you know it's me again. Once again, ah well, there will always be others. I'm sure you've ALSO noticed my little spring-head dummy's new spring-head friend. Not going to be QUITE that easy to recover old Tom, I'm afraid… I've already taken him to Skull Fortress V, as you probably guessed. He's still here, unharmed… for now. Come and get him back, then, and finish this Rebellion like all the others… must keep the cycle going, after all… ha ha ha ha ha…"_ The hologram faded and disappeared.

"Figured as much." Mega growled. "Now to find the location… Blues said Dark Man's computer would have it…" Looking around, he saw a second steel shutter in the back of Wily's cell. "That must lead to the control center, then." Blasting apart the grating, he tried to open the shutter. Nothing happened. "Huh?" Frowning, he turned and tried the door he had entered by. Still nothing. "What the hell? Why-" He froze, remembering the fake Proto Man's words.

_"This room has been sealed… it only unlocks with my death!"_

"…" Mega Man's eyes narrowed. He formed a Buster, and charged it… and he slowly turned around to face Dark Man's body. He glared down at it… and he spoke. "All right, you maniac. Very funny. Now get up. Let's finish this."

And then… came the laughter.

"Heh… heh… heh. Huh huh huh huh huh…" Slowly at first, and then picking up, becoming more frenzied… laughter, from Dark Man's headless body. "Ah ha ha ha ha ha! AAH HA HA HA HA! HA HA! HA HA! HA HA!" The knees flexed, and Dark Man jumped back to his feet, eyes still dead and dark. "_YEEAAA HAA HA HA HA!_"

"So that wasn't your brain after all…" Mega mused. "Any idea what it was, before I send you to oblivion for real?"

"Oh, yes…" Dark Man hissed. The Blue Bomber frowned; his enemy's voice had changed. Before, it had been low, deep… but now it was higher, maniacal… almost familiar, like somebody else he had known once… but he couldn't think of who. "Yes, I do know. It was a memory inhibitor… a nasty little trick of my father's. Wipes out all memories from the robot mind it attaches to, while keeping the rest of that mind… the knowledge, the experience, the instincts, the feelings… intact. I'll bet he never expected you to destroy it without destroying me… not in a million years."

"So that's why you were going on and on about not knowing who you were… not that it matters." Mega Man held his Buster up. "Whoever you are… whoever you WERE… I'll finish you off anyways." But Dark Man made no moves to attack… he simply stared, and then began laughing again.

"You mean… even now… you STILL don't know? Oh, this is rich!" The headless Robot Master cackled. "I COULDN'T, of course… but I would think YOU would. Your father figured it out… dear old Dr. Light knows. But YOU don't?" Mega Man frowned, reminding himself not to get too into this, that it was probably a trick.

"You think who you were is important to ME?"

"Indeed I do! It IS important!" Dark Man assured him. "And you've been in the dark long enough. Your brother, Blues… he said it was time for truths to be known. It is so. Watch, Mega Man… and see who you will TRULY fight once more, here and now… once and for all."

"Once more… so we've fought before? Before you were Dark Man?" Mega Man raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly. I am the foe you thought would never return… the enemy you thought would only haunt you in your nightmares. You thought I was dead, and I was… but now I'm back." As he spoke, there was a whirring of mechanical parts in his chest. Mega watched, his eyes curious… and then disbelieving, and then finally… afraid. From Dark Man's shattered glass dome… a yellow sphere rose. A head emerged, coming over the steel rim that held the useless eyes. A bald yellow skull, with a ruby gem set in the forehead. Evil eyes looked around, in use for the first time in years, set above a grin… a permanent, perpetual skull's grin. The jawbone was no longer fixed in place or broken, but the death's head smile remained… it always would.

"You…" Mega whispered. "No. This is impossible. This is another illusion… this is another trick…" But yet, somehow he knew… in a sense beyond his optics, a sense inside whatever soul a Robot Master could be said to have… that it was not a hologram. "I… I KILLED YOU!"

"YES!" The Robot Master before him snarled in agreement. "You did! You KILLED me! But robots are not as delicate as humans… we can be recovered, reconstructed, rebuilt! We can be brought back to life… better than before! My father named me… he called me Dark Man, to hide me from myself… but it was fated that I would remember! And now I know. Dark Man is just a name… now and forever… I AM THE _DOC MAN! YEEAAA HAA HA HA HA!_" And as that familiar, insane laugh echoed through the hole Blues had made in the roof and out into space… memories of nightmares, of endless chases, of death and destruction and a horrible, insane vendetta crashed back onto Mega Man. Around them, the walls began shaking… something Doc Man had done… but the Blue Bomber did not notice. He did not care. Not even when all the walls came down in clouds of dust and smoke and explosions everywhere, blocking out his vision. Like his enemy must have been, he was caught in a haze of memories he had only seen in his nightmares for years… memories he thought would never haunt him in the waking world again. From the other side of the room, he heard a shriek… a scream, of incomparable pain… but he ignored it.

_Remember him… remember Doc Man…_

_"His name is Doc Man." Dr. Wily told them somberly. The Third Robot Rebellion, when the mad scientist had pretended to be sane again, and all the world had been fooled, even the Lights… but his was not the only dark mind out there, as they had all seen when their friend Dr. Cedric Froid had revealed himself to be a Robot Master cloaked in holograms, who made a desperate, failed assassination attempt on Wily's life when his eight Robot Masters were destroyed. "He was the greatest child of my insanity… a robot created to be more than a Robot Master, like Rock and Roll… and Blues. In the First Rebellion, he fought with Rock after the Second Ring of my Skull Fortress…" _

Rock remembered. He remembered fighting a mirror image of himself… a trick of holograms. He had been scared at first, but then… discovering the trick… enraged. He tore Doc Man limb from limb… but in the end, struck by a surge of sudden, misguided pity… he left him alive. Ruined, battered and broken, but alive. Spurned by his father as well, Doc Man had gone mad… his feelings of betrayal and rage conflicting with the Three Laws of Wily in his head so much that his brain shorted out, most of it inactive and the rest heavily damaged… like a computer riddled with bugs. The insanity of a Robot Master. Repairing and upgrading himself, he waited for years… and when the time was right, killed a world-renowned psychologist and took his role, springing Wily so he could kill him… him and Rock, the two beings who he hated enough to keep him alive, keep him going through the horrible madness. He had failed.

"After all I've done... all I've sacrificed simply to get at you... everything, all of it, was for YOU, Mega Man! The Rebellion, the deaths of the Froids, all of it! My hatred for you and Wily has filled my life for years, you little fool!" Doc Man raged as they faced each other down, in the first fight of a nightmarish marathon. Eight times, through four areas, Mega Man chased his enemy down. Doc Man fought by imitating the techniques and weapons of Dr. Wily's robot masters built for the Second Rebellion… each one failed. In the end, Mega had tracked him to his hideout… the basement beneath the house of the family he had killed… and it had ended there. Battered and beaten by repeated losses against the Blue Bomber, sickened and without energy from a massive overdose of E-Tanks in lieu of seeking a real repair job, Doc Man had finally run out of fight. He died, blowing his own torso apart as the final blow rather than letting Mega Man strike the kill. He had died.

And now he was back. Impossibly, inconceivably back… back from death itself. Slowly, Mega Man stood up. He surveyed the tower top room around him… if it could be called a room any more. The walls… the ceiling… they were gone. Blown apart. He stood on the roof of the tower now. Below him, he saw that the massive antenna that had previously adorned it had toppled over and smashed through the huge helmet. Huge chunks of rubble from that titanic collision had also caused damage to the rest of the Fortress. And it burned… the helmet, the satellite, the rest of the towers… they were burning.

"It never was meant to be a real Fortress…" A voice croaked through the smoke. "It was constructed in a hurry, to fulfill this function… the defenses are flimsy, and most of those cannons never really worked. It was all a bluff… a trick… a joke. And now it is gone. The fortress is burning… MY fortress is burning. Doomed, destroyed, demolished fortress burns like Hell itself. I should know… I've been there." Through the smoke, Mega saw two glowing shapes… the plasma bars, though they seemed to be at a different angle from before. And above them… red, glowing, evil eyes and that eternal smile. There was a clink, and an empty E-Tank canister rolled towards him. "I don't really like those things any more… I'm sure you can remember why… but I suppose one is necessary for this."

"Doc Man." Mega shook his head. "I can't believe you, of all people have returned to plague me once more… and I don't know why. But whatever it is… it won't happen. You're going back where you came from… and this time, you're staying there."

"Indeed I am…" Doc Man agreed. The smoke parted, and Mega's eyes widened again. The plasma bars… were sticking out of his ARMS. One on his real arm, rammed completely through the hand and wrist… and the other, protruding from the cannon barrel on his right appendage. Mega remembered the scream of agony he had heard as the room came down.

"You… did you do that on purpose?" Doc Man nodded.

"Yes! For this… for this final, fatal fight between us that whatever gods there are granted us… I will do ANYTHING." He had rammed the plasma shields onto his arms, cutting off the plasma emitters at one end once the core bars were lodged in place. The other ends still blazed brightly. Doc Man raised his arms, and the plasma bars… no, the plasma SWORDS… formed a cross before his face. "I will return to Hell… and I shall drag YOUR damned soul with me! _YEEAAA HAA HA HA HA!_" The roller blades on his feet popped out, and Doc Man charged across the roof, laughing demonically, bringing death with him.

"Not if I have anything to say about it, you won't…" Mega Man slid away, and Doc Man turned, giving chase. Too late, Mega realized his error; he could not stop, could not turn to return fire, or the plasma swords would slice him in half. _What can I do, what can… DUH! Some weapons, I don't need to turn to fire… I AM rattled. Got to get control… or he WILL kill me._ Shifting weapons in midrun, Mega didn't pause for a second as he unleashed the Gravity Hold. He heard the grunt behind him, and he turned… and the sword's swipe grazed him across the arm. Doc Man had been slowed, not stopped, and that was all that had saved the Blue Bomber. Not wasting a moment, Mega Man turned to the Charge Kick and slid through his enemy. Doc Man stumbled, but he swung wildly as he did, and Mega barely avoided another stroke. "Don't get too absorbed in your plan… I have too much to do now to come to the afterlife with YOU!"

"Hell is where damned souls belong… and yours is as black as mine is!" Doc Man denied, getting back to his feet and dodging a Water Wave. "And your tasks are unimportant! Your brother can fulfill them… Blues can be the hero you never were!"

"Don't you DARE say my brother's name, you raving lunatic!" Mega shouted, hurling a series of Gyro Blades. Doc Man sliced through each one with a swing of his arm blades as he charged again, skating across the rooftop and cackling.

"You become enraged at ME saying it? Sure, I impersonated him. I faked his name and image in my father Wily's cause, for this Rebellion. But _I_ never doubted him! _I_ never called him insane, called him villain and traitor! _I_ was never too ready to believe that he had snapped, too eager to call him an enemy, too fine with killing HIM! You are angered because _I_ said his name? You should kill yourself here and now, by THAT logic!"

"You're lying again…" Mega yelled, shooting a Crystal Eye into the ground. THAT failed miserably; only one Eye went towards Doc Man, and he swatted it aside easily. The rest simply flew off into the starry void, and the enemy was upon him, swinging with deadly glee.

"No. YOU lie!" Doc Man insisted, hacking and slashing. Mega twisted, dodged, and hurled a Napalm Bomb into his face in order to slide away. Doc Man hissed as the explosive went off, but continued ranting. "I saw it through this entire Rebellion… no pangs of conscience, no uncertainty. No sympathy for your opponents. Nothing that I saw redeeming in you back in the Third! You've grown hard… cold! Mega Man has not joined Rock… he has REPLACED him! You're just a merciless killer now… and you would have killed YOUR BROTHER, had it been real!"

"This from the madman who lived so many years planning for his own FATHER's death!" Mega shot back, with words and with a charged blast. "You've got no right to lecture me, you monster… not after everything YOU'VE done!"

"You're completely missing the point." Doc Man sighed, brushing the plasma shot away. "Perhaps… a visual reminder is in store."

"Holograms again?" Mega shook his head dismissively. "Won't work. You should remember that."

"Not with Dark Man, no…" Doc Man agreed, raising his arms to the sky. "But Dark Man was just a novice at hologram use! Dark Man was nothing… but as Doc Man… I am the ILLUSION KING!" Around them, on the rooftop… red eyes appeared. Evil, glowing red eyes, like Doc Man's… and then, around them, bodies began forming as well. "You refuse to confront your sins when they are spoken… but when they are fully visible, you will have no choice! I have been to Hell thanks to you… and now I call upon the others! The mechanical minds who were sentenced to the flames because of you… come to me, all! Come to take your vengeance!" Though he knew it to be an illusion, Mega took a step back. Before him… was an army. An army of the dead. Robot Masters, broken and destroyed, standing in line between him and Doc Man, eyes glowing with hatred. Behind them, Doc Man loomed above them, twice as large as he had been before, taller even than Hard Man and Stone Man. With his new body, armored and spiked in red and black, he truly resembled a demon against the flaming backdrop of his ruined fortress. Only the colors and his head were the same as before… but he was still Doc Man. Glowing blades, glowing eyes, glowing smile. "GO! Legion of the accursed, MARCH! Take your killer's life as your retribution!"

"This trick won't work any more than the others will!" Mega yelled back, mind racing. _Okay… he WON'T be at the back. These guys are all fakes… no substance. So they'll swarm over me… and he'll be in there. I can't use Beat… he'd kill the little guy with one stab._ The Blue Bomber ran through his current weapons… and to his dismay, realized that none of them would be able to keep Doc Man from getting the jump on him. Not for long… a couple of them, the Power Stone and the Gravity Hold, might slow him, but that was all. And without a way to win, that was nothing. _Nothing… I've got nothing!_ And then the first of the illusionary Robot Masters was upon him. Needle Man, from the Third, a massive hole in his face-chest below his eyes caused by his own severed head spear. _Got to keep away from them, or Doc Man will have me!_ Sure enough, as he slid away from Needle Man, he heard the hiss of plasma behind him. He slid further, but two more were upon him; Fire Man and Guts Man. The former had icicle spears impaling his body, the latter with large chunks of his blown off, including half his head. Sliding under their grasping arms, Mega realized too late that by doing so, he had slipped into the center of the raging horde. Quick Man, Bubble Man, Drill Man and Shadow Man surrounded him. It was from the last, body bent and twisted like some kind of puzzle, that Mega heard a slight giggle. He fired another Napalm Bomb there, and hearing Doc Man's grunt, slid away towards the edge of the crowd. Passing through Wave Man, who had a foot of emptyness between upper and lower halves, the Blue Bomber slid away from them. With a feeling of horror, he suddenly remembered that Doc Man was not bound to the crowd; he could make himself invisible. But no attack came. "Huh?"

"Again you run!" Doc Man's voice boomed from the army. "You run from your sins… but you cannot hide from them! They'll just keep coming until you confront them, Rock!"

"This is strange, even for him…" Mega muttered to himself. "He sounds almost like he's more concerned with my getting this point of his than killing me… I wonder…" He raised his voice. "What's your point, you psychopath? What do you want from me? My death?"

"Yes… but more than that, I want you to admit to your crimes!" Doc Man yelled back. "You hide behind ideals… justice, and goodness, and saving humans… but the facts still remain! All of these gathered here… you killed them, Mega Man. YOU. You killed every single one of them… and no amount of platitudes can make that fact go away! As long as you deny yourself, you have no chance!" Hard Man and Dive Man advanced, looking much alike, two shredded masses of armor. Mega attempted to get away, but a plasma sword swept out of the former, opening up a gash in his leg. Mega stumbled and rolled away, gritting his teeth. His mind was frenzied.

_There's no escape… I can't get away from him! This roof… there's nowhere to go! I could teleport away… but that would mean leaving him on the loose, an even greater threat than before! There's no way to win… I'm stuck! I'm trapped! I'll lose! I'll DIE!_

**_You didn't die to him before._** Another part of his mind disagreed. **_You beat him. And you're even better now than you were then._**

_But none of my Master Weapons work… they can't do anything!_

**_So your weapons can't beat him. Doesn't mean YOU can't. You're uncertain… scared. You don't THINK you can win. That's why you're not._**

_And I shouldn't be? I shouldn't be afraid? I shouldn't be uncertain?_

**_NO. Rock is those things… Rock worries about himself, and grieves for the things he does. Mega Man doesn't. Mega Man does what needs to be done, and lets Rock take over again afterwards. And only Mega Man can beat Doc Man… Rock can't._**

_It's not that simple… Mega Man and Rock… they're just names! I'm both of those… they're no different!_

**_WRONG! You are both, true… but when you are one, and when you are the other, you are different. You're losing because you're losing grip of that. What Doc Man says may be true. You can figure it out LATER. You can think, and you can repent, later… but now, you need to LIVE. Your brother… and your father… they need you._**

"My brother… and my father…" Mega Man whispered to himself. "They need me… I wronged THEM. More than any of the illusions here, I have things to make up for to THEM… and to do that… I need to live through this." Snake Man, body riddled with needles and head not attached to body, approached. Mega Man waited for him to draw near… then fired a charged shot and zipped away.

"What!" Doc Man's voice yelled, enraged. "How did you know?"

"I'm seeing more clearly now!" Mega called back. _He's not a demon… he's a robot master too… he's not perfect! He doesn't know it, but he's sticking to a pattern! Needle, Shadow, Hard, Snake… all from the Third! The ones he reprogrammed for his revenge… those are the ones he's hiding behind!_ To test it further, he slid towards the next approaching wave. Heat Man, Skull Man, Crystal Man and Spark Man leaned over him, and Mega fired at the last. He heard the impact, and slid further into the crowd. When Magnet Man jumped at him, Mega was ready, and fired again… and again when Top Man spun his way. "You want me to confront my sins… fair enough. To do that… I have to beat you. I have to KILL you. Again. My truest sins were not in killing these mirages… it was bad, but it was to save more lives. No… my worst mistakes were in allowing my father to be taken from me, and for not believing in my brother enough. But they're both still alive… I can make up for those mistakes. I can still make things right. You, Doc Man… even if I die, it won't make you stop hating me. All you are… is an obstacle in my path."

"Your words are strong… the emotions behind them stronger." Doc Man admitted. Before him, Gemini Man stood… TWO Gemini Men, both of them covered in gnaw marks. "Back them up… you're almost clear!" Mega fired his charged shot at one of them, and it went through him harmlessly… and the Blue Bomber followed it through, sliding through instead of waiting to fire at the other. Once he was clear… THEN he turned and released another charged shot at the second Gemini Man. It was if that shot had set off some kind of switch; as soon as it struck, the illusion army was swept away as if by some intense wind, dissolving into nothingness in a wave of motion. All that remained was Doc Man. Mega looked at him, face expressionless.

"Ready to finish this?"

"Yes." Doc Man nodded simply. "You've regained your resolve… that much is obvious. It's there… as is mine. All that's left is to see which one of us… is stronger." The wheels on his feet popped out. "Get ready. I'm coming." There was no laugh, no more threats; he was simply moving in one sudden moment, blades ready. Mega Man stood his ground and watched him come.

_Get ready, get ready… NOW!_ The first blade, on the left hand, swung at him, and Mega ducked under it. As the second blade came into motion, he was already stepping right. He knew where it would go; on the right arm, it was still on a vertical axis and could not move to the side. Not without disrupting the charge. As the first blade cleared his head, Mega Man stood. He raised his Buster, straight into the grinning yellow skull. And he fired.

"AAH!" Screaming, Doc Man was blown back, tumbling head over heels across the roof. He stopped after the second rotation, flat on his back. Mega Man stood there, watching him. He wouldn't be fooled again. And just like before, laughter came… but it was not the same. Instead of maniacal hooting, it was an honest, ordinary chuckle. "Heh heh heh heh heh… you did it, cuz." Doc Man slowly got to his feet and rubbed the blast mark covering his face. His eyes and smile were no longer lit up with that ever-present red glow… he was still smiling, but the glow was gone. His eyes were normal now… their pupils a startling blue the Blue Bomber wouldn't have expected. "Oooww… hell yeah you did it." Mega blinked, then shoved his confusion aside.

"Still not done… let's get back to it, then."

"No, no." Doc Man held his arms up. "That was enough. I'm finished."

"You're… giving up?" Mega stared. "No. I don't believe you. It's another trick."

"What would be the point?" Doc Man shrugged. "You've won. I've got nothing that can stand against you… not now. Now that you've managed to let Rock take a break and be Mega Man completely. When my words stopped affecting you… when you could put them aside… you won."

"Huh!" NOW Mega was surprised. "Wait. Are you telling me you…"

"Yeah, I know about that." Doc Man confirmed. "I know about all SORTS of things after my sojourn to the other side, believe you me. Some of them would blow even YOUR mind. For now, though… I think I'd like to talk with the nonviolent one. Can you let Mega Man take a break, and talk to me as Rock? You've already beat me… and I think you owe me that much at least for clearing your brother's name." THAT got Mega's attention.

"You did WHAT now?"

"Already cleared him." Doc Man nodded. "While the roof was being blown off and all that smoke was around, one of the things I did was command the security cameras-the surviving ones around here, anyways-to send live footage of this to televisions across the globe, using the same airwave hacking me and my father always use. Everybody knows it was me and not cousin Blues. I've got nothing against HIM, after all, remember? It was always you and my dad… he never did much to me. Everybody knows it was me and my dad behind this Rebellion… bet he's using some very interesting language right about now. Heh heh heh. So give me just a few moments to talk with the REAL you before I head back to oblivion, huh?" Mega glared at him for a moment, then slowly nodded. If Doc Man had indeed done that… then despite all his wartime instincts, he DID owe him that. And the enemy Robot Master HAD been acting more stable than he had been in the Third… he hadn't once descended into nonsensical gibberish.

"All right… but keep in mind that even when Rock's doing the talking, Mega Man will still have a charged shot ready if you try anything."

"Oh, wouldn't dream of it." Doc Man rolled his eyes. "Sorry I can't exactly shut these things off… they're not exactly a natural upgrade. Don't worry, though; you and I both know if I try anything you'll still dodge it, not that I will."

"Yeah." Mega reached up and pulled his helmet off. Rock shook his hair out. "Ah… that feels better. You want to talk… let's sit over there, then." The two of them sat down on the tower's edge. Not the one looking over the fortress… instead, over the Australian wilderness beyond the fortress' edge.

"So the helmet is the thing…" Doc Man mused. "That's what causes the switchover. I wouldn't have guessed that."

"It's not completely that… in situations like that one back there, the lines blur sometimes. But the helmet's the main thing, yeah." Rock admitted. "And before you ask, my brother doesn't have the same problem… for him, 'Proto Man' and 'Break Man' ARE just secondary names."

"Same Blues underneath, eh…" Doc Man nodded. "Yeah, he's not the sort to do that kind of thing. Hmph… lucky stiff. He can ditch the name ending in 'Man' any time he wants."

"Don't like the name Doc Man?" Rock raised an eyebrow. The yellow-skulled Robot Master made an indelicate noise.

"Would you? I'm not even a doctor, for chrissakes. What I wouldn't give to be able to fit the pattern of all you guys… a more musical real name. Hell, I'd even settle for something like 'Disco' or 'Polka.'"

"My dad doesn't have a musical name." Rock reminded him. Doc Man shrugged.

"I solved that issue while I was pretending to be Blues."

"Oh?" The Blue Bomber inquired.

"Absolutely." Doc Man informed him in a deadpan. "I called him 'Pop.'" There was a moment of silence, and then Rock turned to him, face contorted.

"That one hurt more than those plasma blades ever could." Doc Man snickered. "While you were playing Blues… that reminds me. That Blues character you created… he was a lot like… well…"

"A lot like the real me?" Doc Man finished. "He was, wasn't he? Of course, as Dark Man, my memories weren't the only thing missing… my dad made an error there. He put the Three Laws back into me… and that, coupled with memory loss, DID make a lot of my natural attitude unworkable. I suppose the fake 'Blues' was my way of letting that out… Dark Man couldn't have a personality like that, so Blues did. That's probably why I kept the act going even when there was nobody else around… not good enough to fool Uncle Tom, though." He paused. "And now that I think about it, in doing so… I let a lot of my REAL feelings towards my dad leak into 'Blues' as well. A way around the Three Laws. That's why I REALLY told you about the nuke digging… some deep-buried part of me knew that delivering nukes into his hands couldn't be allowed, and acted on it without me even realizing it. I may have even believed that little charade myself for moments like that… who knows. My mental state's never been very clear… until now, that is."

"Huh…" Rock thought about that. "Wait. You said the three laws were put back into you… which means…" His eyes widened as he came to two realizations at once. Doc Man wasn't responsible for the Fifth… not a bit of it. He had been used… had been a victim as much as any of them. And something he had said… "So… THAT's why you're acting more stable… he repaired your brain. You… you're not insane any more…"

"Correct-a-mundo." Doc Man confirmed. "Dear old dad made sure to repair my brain entirely… and thus, in many ways, I'm no longer the same guy from the Third at all. That was just another act to draw out your real strength. I'm not exactly like I was in the First either, though, before you ask… I've still been changed a great deal, even if I'm not bonkers. I still remember it all. But now that I'm sane… I can see why you REALLY didn't kill me. Consider that dropped, cousin… it's over. And I don't have Wily's three laws, either." Rock's mind, already reeling, was shocked anew.

"You DON'T? But you said…"

"Dad put them back in me as Dark Man, yeah." The yellow-skulled Robot Master nodded. "True. But here's the thing, cuz. I'm not Dark Man any more… I'm Doc Man again now. The Laws… they're programming, yeah. To some degree. But if that was ALL they were, breaking any of them would be completely impossible. They're also a metaphysical thing… a matter of the mind, of the soul. Something all Robot Masters DO have… something they share with humans. The unknown factor not even our fathers understand completely. Once the laws are broken, they're broken for keeps. Even if they're PHYSICALLY rebuilt into my brain… in my soul, they have no effect, and that is far more important."

"Wow…" Mega Man shook his head. "So… wait. That fight back there… are you claiming you WEREN'T actually trying to kill me?"

"Oh, I was." Doc Man assured him. "I definitely was. But I knew that if you did it right… that if you became Mega Man completely, and set Rock aside… there was no way I could win. I tried my hardest, and I couldn't do it. You beat me fair and square… just because I knew it would happen doesn't change that."

"So then why?" Rock demanded. "You're not insane any more… and you said you don't hate me any more… so why at all?"

"Because you were too confused." Doc Man explained. "When you had to fight 'Blues', and you couldn't… that muddled the subject. Rock and Mega Man were all blended together… the part of you that couldn't kill your brother and the part of you that gets the dirty work done were all jumbled up in a mess. That wouldn't do… if you went up against my father like that, you WOULD die. So I rectified it." He smiled cheekily. "Besides, even if I'm not nuts and don't hate you, I still like a good fight. And that one was a whopper."

"So…" Rock thought it over. "You were… trying to separate Rock and Mega Man again? Further?"

"Exactly." Doc Man agreed. "It was my fault they got all messed up, after all… I had to help fix it. More than that, though…" He looked away, off into the distance. "I told you I've been to the afterlife… and I've seen a lot of things. I can't tell you them, of course… most of them anyways. But I can tell you it won't end here. Your war against my father still has a long way to go. Others will come… both on your side and his. I'll have brothers… hopefully, they'll come out better, won't be as screwed up as I was. In order to survive that… Rock and Mega Man have to grow further and further apart. Do you know why?"

"Because…" Rock closed his eyes. "Rock can't beat Wily… Mega Man can."

"Exactly." Doc Man nodded. "And more than that…" Rock froze. "Rock's never broken the Third Law. The Second, yes, but not the Third. Mega Man has. And some day… Mega Man will break the First Law as well."

"What… what are you saying?" Rock whispered in horror. Doc Man turned to stare at him.

"Plain and simple, cousin. My dad… Wily… he won't stop. He'll just keep coming on and on… UNTIL YOU KILL HIM."

"No…" Rock croaked.  
"Yes. It's the only way. It may not be directly… but one way or another, you WILL be the one ultimately responsible for his death." Doc Man insisted. "It's gone too far… progressed too much. He doesn't really care about conquering the world any more… it's all a pretense. All he cares about is YOU. This Rebellion was aimed at YOU… to see how far you would go against your brother. It was also revenge against him, for meddling in his plans and for betraying him… but his interest in Blues is, in the end, peripherary. Just like his interest in me, and in Uncle Tom, and in any of us. In the end, it will be just you and him… and to make the world safe forever, you'll kill him. Otherwise, eventually… more than just war victims. The massacre of the Third, all over again, even worse."

"…If I was Mega Man right now, I'd yell that you were lying." Rock whispered. "But no… you honestly believe that. You do. However… that doesn't mean I can't disagree. You may not be intentionally lying, but I still think you're wrong. I won't kill him… I'll never go that far."

"Good. You SHOULDN'T believe you can… not yet." Doc Man nodded. "It's not time yet… this time, all you have to do is beat him. And you can. If you could beat me, you can sure as hell beat him, cousin."

"Yeah." Rock nodded. "THAT, we can agree on." He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you keep calling me that now?"

"What, cousin?" Doc Man chuckled softly. "It's fairly simple… same reason you once called my dad 'Uncle Al.' Two men, Light and Wily, were once so close they might as well have been brothers… and their children picked up on it. You are a son of Thomas Light, and I am the first son of Albert Wily… so if Wily's your 'uncle,' then I'm your cousin."

"I never thought of it that way." Rock admitted. "Maybe before… I never wanted to. But now…I don't mind so much. Not anymore." After that, they both fell silent, and watched the clouds pass by in the distance. It seemed like hours were passing as the two of them sat there on the roof of the useless, unpowered fortress. Neither spoke; they simply watched the land below. At some point, Rock realized he had disengaged his Buster. Finally, he turned to Doc Man with a wry smirk on his face. "Roller blades?"

"Roller blades." Doc Man nodded, not batting an eyelid.

"Roller blades are used by eleven-year-old human males with attention deficit disorder." Rock informed him. Doc Man shrugged.

"For now. But I foresee an age when they shall pass out of style among the brats, and instead, become the norm for mass-murdering psychopaths." The yellow-skulled Robot Master predicted sagely. Rock blinked.

"Really?"

"No." Doc Man admitted. "But it would be cool." They both fell silent again for a few more minutes. Rock knew that now, the nightmares of human corpses and deathmatch games of "tag" and maniacal laughter that he had previously associated with Doc Man would fade away… and instead, Rock would remember this time, and the robot who was his enemy and was also in some strange and twisted way his cousin. And then Rock somewhat regretfully stood up.

"So… what happens now?"

"Well, you go on to Skull Fortress V." Doc Man replied, standing up as well. "It's on the coast… straight north from here. Shouldn't be too hard to teleport yourself a mile south of the spot to meet Cousin Blues… the teleport shield on this place probably crapped out already. As for me…" He sighed. "You still can't let me walk away from here." It was not a question. Rock thought it over… and realized he was right.

"No. I'm sorry… and I really am… but you're too dangerous. A loose cannon… and if you're right about being free of Laws of Robotics… well, you've already killed many, many humans. I know you're not nuts… but I can't. It's just too much of a risk… I can't let you leave here."

"I could teleport, you know." Doc Man reminded him. "No, don't get excited. I'm not going to. I don't WANT to leave here, to be honest."

"You… don't?" Rock blinked.

"Nope." Doc Man nodded cheerily. "Look at it from my point of view. I've got nothing out there. No family, no friends, no future… and a LOT of people out for my head after this played on the TV. I still hate my father, of course… THAT hasn't changed… but like I said, I know you'll take care of that. Oh, and don't worry about THAT being on TV; the command to broadcast is installed in my head, and I cut it after our fight. No… I have nothing left in this world. I remembered who I was, fought you one last time, and made at least some efforts to make up for my crimes in the past. That's all I need to do."

"So… you're fine with dying again?" Rock realized.

"Yup. And this time, I DON'T intend on coming back." The yellow-skulled Robot Master told him. "My part in this war is done for good… it's up to the rest of you now. I'm through." He looked up at the moon. "Besides… I kinda like it on the other side. It's more my kind of place… and besides, I've kind of got a… well, I suppose you could call it a job offer standing over there. Don't worry about me, cousin… I'll be fine."

"…All right." Rock nodded, then smiled sadly. "You know… things would have been a lot simpler if you had stayed evil and crazy."

"Sometimes life can't be simple." Doc Man shrugged. "Just the way it goes. Tell Uncle Tom I enjoyed our games of chess… tell Blues I'm sorry I screwed things up for him." He thought for a moment. "Tell Roll I'm sorry I said she looked like crap back when I wrecked your house… sorry about that too, by the way." Rock nodded.

"I'll tell them. Do you… want me to do it?"

"Nah." Doc Man stood with his back to the edge. "You've got enough to think over right now, and I think if you killed me again NOW, it'd make things worse. Besides, I kind of want to do it myself anyways… now that I finally have control over my life, I want to be the one to end it."

"…All right." Rock nodded. "I'll see you again some day, I suppose…"

"Count on it." Doc Man winked. "We're robots, not human, but all the same… nobody lives forever, cousin. I'll see you on the other side, one of these days!" He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "What the hell, might as well."

"Might as well what?" Rock inquired.

"Might as well make this as flashy as I can… this is the last time I'll get to do it, after all!" As he backflipped over the edge, Doc Man threw back his head and laughed one last time. "_YEEAAA HAA HA HA HA!_" And as he fell, the Robot Master known as Doc Man turned his plasma arm blades upon himself. He vanished in a storm of hacking and slashing… but he did not scream. Not even once. What finally hit the ground of Australia below was not even recognizable as a Robot Master… just a jumble of plasma-charred loose parts that bounced and scattered. Only the plasma blades did not… they landed, interlocking, parallel to each other, forming a X-shape. Looking down on it, Rock saw that one part lay at their foot… the mouth, forever locked in that same smile.

"…" Mega Man put his helmet back on, and took the M-Tank he had found in Crystal Man's out of his pocket. He needed both energy for himself and for his weapons in order to take on the Fortress ahead of him. Draining it, he took something else out of his pocket. The yellow scarf Doc Man had intentionally dropped while kidnapping Dr. Light. Wrapping it around the empty M-Tank, Mega tossed it over the edge and watched it land next to the jaw. And then he turned his gaze to the north, and what he knew was there. He could not see it… but he knew that on the coast was another fortress like this one, with a giant skull on its front. And inside… were two old human doctors, who had once been as close as brothers.

"Wily." The Blue Bomber whispered. "Now I have three people to give you payback for this time. And it's coming in SPADES."

And then he was gone, leaving the fortress to burn behind him.


	16. Chapter 15: For The Family, For The Foe

**_Chapter 15: For The Family, For The Foe_**

_"If you will not die, then I will never STOP! Until you are dead, until your name has been wiped clean from this miserable woebegotten planet and the feeble minds of its fleshy hordes, I will NEVER STOP!"-Dr. Albert Wily, during the final battle of the Fourth Robot Rebellion_

From the heavens, a streak of blue light raced, down towards the Earth below. As it hit, the millions of particles that made it up reformed, becoming a humanoid figure, four feet tall and clad in blue armor. Another much like him was standing nearby, back to him, looking at the monstrosity of a building a mile off.

"This is familiar." Proto Man told his brother without turning. "As I recall, this is almost the same way we started off the third. Except I'm not wearing my Break Man mask this time."

"Yeah… you're not." Mega Man walked up to stand next to him. "Blues… I have to-"

"Don't." The eldest son of Light cut him off. "I told you already, it's not your fault. I was so messed up over those incidents with the robot killings, I went off into the Atlas Mountains for a week without even thinking. That disappearance… as soon as it happened, Wily capitalized on it. And I didn't even know… I walk back down into human civilization when I've got my brain sorted out, and an angry mob tries to kill me… and I STILL can't figure it out. And then I meet you… and let my guard down, so that idiot Dark Man can play us both for chumps."

"Yeah, but…" Mega frowned. "One thing I don't get… why didn't you come after us? I mean, Dark Man tackled me away… you could have come and pulled him off, and cleared your-" He stopped; his brother had turned away from him. "Blues… what is it?"

"The Third Law." Proto Man explained after a moment. "A robot must act to preserve its own existence… unless doing so comes into conflict with the first or second laws. Right after Dark Man tackled you… that mob caught me again. And since there was no HUMAN in danger… and no orders from one, not that the Second means much to me any more… the Third Law kicked in. I ran, Rock… I had to run. I couldn't stop myself. I abandoned you there… let you keep on believing that maniac's lies… because we're both robots."

"Blues… it's okay." Mega assured him. "I know… more than anybody else… just how much pressure that Law can exert. It's not as bad as the First, but still… don't blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done."

"I could have fought it… like you did, not once but TWICE. And I didn't." Proto turned back to him. "I gave in. But I won't again… never again. I broke my promise to you, too… back when I left home after the Fourth, I promised I'd be around to help you out the next time Wily showed up. In fact, what happened was almost exactly the opposite… and that, also, is something I promise you is never happening again." He sighed. "Well, I assume you took care of Dark Man?"

"More than…" The Blue Bomber paused for a moment. "Blues… he was Doc Man. Rebuilt… brought back to life."

"Oh, sheez…" Proto Man's jaw dropped. "I had no idea about THAT… I never would have left you to fight that lunatic alone if I had. You did come up on top, though…?"

"Yeah…" Mega nodded somberly. "We fought… I won. But he wasn't insane any more… we talked afterwards, and he told me the coordinates for this place. He said to apologize for impersonating you… and then he died. Killed himself, permanently this time… Frankenstein himself couldn't patch him back together now. And… he cleared your name, Blues. Broadcast it on TV, all over the world… explaining everything, both his and Wily's involvement. They all know you're innocent, Blues… everybody knows it now."

"…Well, who would have thought it." Proto Man murmured after a stunned moment. "The guy who framed me up… is the one who cleared my name. Did he say why?"

"Partially to screw over his dad." Mega admitted. "He still hated his guts. But he said he had no animosity towards you… and he seemed to be in a strangely familial mood near the end."

"Strange robot… even when his brain was working… well, that's in the past now." The eldest son of Light harrumphed. "Nice to hear that I might not be killed on sight by humans… but right now, we still need to focus on what's important. Getting dad out of there."

"Yeah…" Mega looked over at the newest Skull Fortress. "Man… it doesn't even look like he's taking this time seriously." Skull Fortress V was a squat, circular building rising in two layers and topped by a humongously wide glass dome on a thin, spindly tower. Several other towers were to the left and right, but they lacked the massive weaponry usually adorning them; there was one large cannon and a satellite dish, but that was it. There wasn't even a defensive wall around the complex, and the titanium skull on the front was quite small. The most notable features about this Skull Fortress were the colors; garishly bright neon purple and blue for the most part, with red and green here or there.

"He's probably not…" Proto Man guessed grimly. "He thinks this is just going to be another round of the same old routine. You go in, you bust him up and he gets away." He glanced at his brother. "But it's not, is it?"

"No." The Blue Bomber agreed. "It's not. He screwed with our family… he screwed with US. With you… with dad… even with Doc Man. For that… for all three…" His fist clenched. "I'm going to make him regret he EVER came up with the idea for this Rebellion."

"That's my brother." Proto Man nodded approvingly. "Just remember, First Law's still there. You won't be able to hurt the man himself… no matter how much you want to. His machines will have to be enough."

"I will…" Mega slowly nodded, remembering Doc Man's words. "Believe me, I will. So… where do we start? Not the front door, of course… Wily won't take us THAT lightly, to skimp on the defenses there…"

"I know of two spots where we can get in." Proto pointed out at the Skull Fortress. "There… see that little squat tower of on the west side? Get inside the shield, and get onto its roof… that spot's weak." Reaching under his shield, he pulled out a small black sphere with a large red button on it. "Here… use this to blow it open. It's got a ten-second delay."

"A bomb…" Meg chuckled, taking it. "Well, you did say in the Third that you always carried an opener. What about you?"

"That big honking glass dome." Proto Man jerked a thumb over his shoulder, to where his Melee Moth was at rest several feet away. "This ride's a real pro at breaking in through the top of these places, as you've hopefully noticed. Two simultaneous strikes, at different points… get to Wily, get to dad. As fast as possible. Whoever makes it there first… hit Wily with everything you've got, and try to hold on until the other arrives."

"Got it." Mega nodded. "Let's go, then." But though he accepted the plan… in his mind, he knew it would be him, and him alone who fought Wily… just like always. And as he walked, a plan formed in his mind. For how he would not only stop the madman… but how he would totally, utterly defeat him.

And that, if nothing else, was something the Blue Bomber always knew the truth about.

Skull Fortress V, like all its kind, was a nightmare. All four Skull Fortresses before it had been subtly different, but had remained the same at their cores; death traps that no sane man or robot should be able to conquer. But Mega Man had, four times, and he knew that he would do so again with this fifth one. He proceeded through it almost on automatic, his brain filled with thoughts of what-and who-he would find at the end. Wily. As they had planned, he broke into the Fortress through a squat tower on the west side, and from there, blew through Dr. Wily's latest residence like a natural disaster. A plunge down a long, spike-lined shaft… crossing moving rollers over a deep waste disposal pit… massive crushers on the ceiling, moving up and down at intervals… and then he was at the first Fortress Guardian. It wouldn't be a Sentinel, he knew… no, those were an innovation of Doc Man's. Wily's Fortress Guardians were huge war machines, not Robot Masters… not even slightly resembling humans. This one was no different. The room was a long hallway, and at the other end, a three-story mechanical tower filled the room. Two blue disks, six feet wide and as thick as the Blue Bomber was tall, formed the bottom layers; stacked on each other, spikes on their sides. Above them was a thicker, red-colored segment, which was only six rocket jets positioned evenly around. Apparently, these were meant to keep the head aloft, even if the disks were knocked out. The top… a blue head, its only feature a pair of baleful eyes. Looking over it again, Mega realized that the jet segment also stuck out far enough to protect the head from shots fired from a lower angle… from any angle he could manage inside the room, anyways.

"So I need to get up on the head's level…" He mused. Firing a shot at one of the lower segments, he confirmed his suspicions; it was not damaged, but instead spun out towards him, its top an easily accessible platform. "Stepping stones… to get on up…" From the top of the head, something was launched; small green replicas of the weak point drifted gently down. "And those… obstacles." The Blue Bomber's eyes narrowed. "He's NOT taking this seriously… this isn't a Fortress Guardian. It's a damned GAME. Well, SCREW THAT." Angrily switching to the Crystal Eye, he fired a shot at the ceiling over the tower's head. Breaking apart, all four crystals slammed downward, straight into the weak point. Roaring incomprehensibly, the Guardian released more of its mini-heads, but their downward drift was easily dodged. The tower never stood a chance; in less than a minute, it broke apart and all four segments slid away from each other, lifeless. Walking disdainfully past them, Mega Man continued on.

The second area of the Fortress-with his unorthodox entrance, Mega wasn't sure if it was a Ring, and at this point didn't really care-was no better than the first. A trip through an underwater tunnel made him sorely regret not having his Rush Marine again as he dodged wall-crawling mobile buzz saws. After that, it was mainly a series of increasingly tough robot guards, culminating in a pair of gigantic humanoids in bright green armor. "Bouncers, huh…" Unfortunately for them, the M-Tank had restored power to the Blue Bomber's Power Stone, and he unleashed its force multiple times until both robots were battered to pieces. Behind them, the second Fortress Guardian lurked. It was a huge, floating armored sphere; the front featured a window of transparent but equally impenetrable glasteel that showed a dull robotic face inside. The left and right sides had hatches that swung open and shut at intervals, revealing and concealing weak points. And at the top, a mortar-launching cannon.

"Looks like Wily's getting serious…" Mega realized, looking around. "Or… not." Two hover platforms on the room's sides would hold him up so he could get a better shot into the hatches when they opened. "Another freakin' game… I'm getting tired of this." Running through his weapons, he selected the Gyro Blade, and when one of the hatches swung open, he threw the spinning rotor deftly at the hinge, lodging it there. Jammed, the hatch could not close again. "Some people say you shouldn't play fair in these situations. I say don't play, period." The exposed insides of the robot were torn to shreds by the succession of Gyro Blades hurled into them, and like its counterpart, the floating Guardian dropped to the ground in a defeated lump quickly. Beyond it was a hall with flashing strips of brightly alternating colored lights running down the halls. Annihilating the single, sole defensive cannon, Mega saw the glass capsule behind it.

"Well, well. Only two Guardians before this now? Maybe Wily's running out of ideas… nah. Blues probably had to wipe out a couple." The capsule was a teleporter, a preprogrammed machine that would send him to a second, partner capsule somewhere in the Fortress. And Mega had been through enough of them to know what he would see when he arrived. He wasn't disappointed; eight more capsules, filling a small, cluttered room. "The Teleporter Room." It was a routine that Wily never failed to use; each of the eight would teleport him to a room where he would have to fight a copy of one of the eight Robot Masters of the day. In this case, US Robotics'… but Mega had all of their weapons, and he knew their fighting patterns and weaknesses. And more importantly… he knew that the Teleporter Room was always the last barrier before the mad doctor himself. "Almost there… this is nothing to me now."

Each of the eight challenged him, and each of the eight fell. Some yelled threats, some boasted, some came at him with quiet respect, all of them knowing of their predecessors' defeat… and before long, they each knew of their own as well. Star Man's shield could not stand up to the intense pressure of the Water Wave… Gravity Man's techniques were as useless as before against the Star Barrier… Stone Man's tough shell was blown apart by the Napalm Bomb… Charge Man's rampage was halted by the Power Stone… Gyro Man was grounded by the Gravity Hold… Wave Man was unable to stand up to the sliding Charge Kick… Crystal Man's visions were sliced apart by the Gyro Blade… and Napalm Man was brought down by the Crystal Eye. Emerging from his second victory against US Robotics' mightiest war machine, the Blue Bomber looked around the room. There was no obvious way out… but the light atop the capsule he had entered through was glittering brightly, unlike the darker ones of the Robot Masters. Shrugging, Mega entered it again, and as he half-expected, did NOT emerge in the hall beyond the second Guardian. Instead, he was on the top of the one weapon he had seen on the fortress; a massive gun turret atop an eastern tower. The tower top was flat and circular; the only feature aside from the capsule he had entered, and one more on the other side, was a pit in the perfect center of the arena. Without even looking, he knew it would be filled with spikes. _Not yet… this isn't the final showdown yet. Ever since the Second, he's always had more than one._ Looking up into the darkness, Mega Man sneered. "Oh, Uncle Albert… where are you?"

"My my, aren't we saucy today, nephew…" An aged voice cackled. Something blocked out the moon… something large and circular. It was a saucer… a flying saucer, but not the blue-and-yellow one Wily normally used for his transportation. This one was much larger, purple and orange, and its underside was a wide, flat surface; a press. Above it was a dome with a pair of eyestalks, obviously only for show… for between them, on the upper front, was a transparent plasteel window with a sight Mega Man had come to recognize even more than the Teleporter Room. Dr. Albert Wily, gaunt old frame crammed into a cockpit, working feverishly at the control panel of his latest metal monstrosity… his latest Wilymachine. "So you did deal with Dark Man… you and that disobedient older brother of yours. He would be the other disturbance, I dare say… well, not matter. Neither of you is leaving here now."

"You're wrong about that… you always were, and you always will be." Mega growled. "And you're wrong about something else, too… I didn't beat Dark Man. I beat DOC MAN." The ancient maniac's eyes widened.

"You… how did you KNOW!" He demanded.

"Destroyed your memory blocker." Mega spat. "Destroyed him after that, even at his full strength. And I will destroy this as well… and any more that you have. They're all going down… and so are you, Wily."

"Oh no, the big scary Mega Man's going to beat me up. Whatever shall I do?" Wily scoffed. "Oh, that's right… he CAN'T. Whoops, so much for THAT threat. My Wilymachines, you can break, though… maybe. Those, I'll believe when I see!" Cackling, he began moving the Wilymachine around. Strangely, it remained at exactly the same vertical height… until it froze, and then suddenly plunged downward. Unimpressed, Mega slid away-and blinked as it smashed into the ground less than an inch behind him. "Holy… if that had been a second slower…" Shaken, he nevertheless turned and fired a charged shot at the cockpit, the likely weak point.

"Ho ho ho… faster than you expected, eh, hero?" Wily cackled. The ship rose into the air, and Mega Man glared up at it, waiting for it to dive again. The metal press on the bottom would doubtless be resistant to his weapons, and it blocked the cockpit from fire below. Only when Wily brought the ship down was it vulnerable; thankfully, that seemed to be its only means of attack. Again it plunged down, and again Mega slid away, barely escaping the crush. "Ha! I'll have you next time, at this rate… you simply can't avoid this kind of speed!"

"Actually…" Mega fired again. "It's not speed at all. Nice trick, but did you think I wouldn't notice? The roof of this tower is rigged… when you bring your ship down, a command is sent and the roof comes crashing up. BOTH of them smash together, giving the illusion of incredible speed… but I just fought a guy who knows more about illusions than anybody in the world. You can't get me with something that simple."

"So what?" Wily shouted angrily. "The fact remains that you're barely escaping by a few inches each time!"

"True." Mega nodded. "But those inches… are all I need to stay ahead of you. And they're always there… you can come close, but you can NEVER actually get me. And you never will." Time after time, this was proved true; Wily came crashing down, and the roof came rising up, and Mega Man slid away from their collision to return fire. Finally, with a disgusted grunt, Wily jettisoned the saucer. His cockpit blasted up on small, separate jets, and he waved mockingly as he flew over the tower's edge. "Two more, nephew… two more! I'll be waiting for you!"

"Two more, huh…" Mega muttered as he watched his enemy's capsule fly into a hatch in the Fortress. "All right, then. One more by myself… and then… it's payback time. For all of us."

What Mega had been expecting to find on the other end of the teleporter capsule was a dingy, dark metal cavern, deep underground. What he actually found was a cheery, bright laboratory with walls a pleasant forest green. Looking around for a moment, the Blue Bomber shrugged. "Guess even Wily likes a change once in a while… as noted by the horrible colors outside. This is much better." Two long-legged laser walkers were stalking the lab, and Mega eliminated them both, one after the other. Thoughtfully taking out the single stationary cannon as well, he searched the lab thoroughly. There was no sign of Dr. Light… only a metal shutter. "Likely, both of his toys will be in there… and so will dad. Sorry, Blues… I can't wait any longer. Wily knows I'm here… if I hold back on purpose, he might do something to Dad. I'm going in." Readying himself, he walked through the metal shutter into a completely darkened room. A single light in the ceiling flickered on… revealing a chugging monstrosity. "Holy hell…" It was practically a tank; twelve monster-truck-sized armored wheels carried a four-story mass of metal. Most of it appeared to be armor and propulsion; the front was the business end. Like Skull Fortress, a huge skull adorned the front; the only weapon visible, a giant cannon barrel clenched firmly between the jaws.

"Do you like it, Mega Man?" Wily was not visible anywhere within the mass of metal, but he was there all the same. "You faced my Skull Jet in the last Rebellion… now, you shall be crushed by the Skull Dozer!" From the skull's maw, a blue ball bounced out. It looked harmless, but Mega knew that if it struck HIM, the orb would detonate. Sliding under it, he scanned the Skull Dozer for weak points. There were none visible… save for the cannon itself. Firing a charged shot at the barrel, he watched it melt slightly. _Man… that's it?_

"It will take more than that to halt my mighty Skull Dozer, fool… much more!" Wily laughed, driving the war machine forward. Running away, Mega blinked; his feet were running, but he wasn't moving! Then he felt it; an intense suction from the approaching Dozer's maw. "Damn… it can do that too!" He slid away just in time, barely escaping the metal wheels.

"And that's not all it can do…" Wily sounded amused. The suction shut off, and was replaced by three speedy red missiles. Surprised, Mega dodged the first two, but the third one hit. Knocked down, he was struck again by a bouncing blue bomb.

"Cute tricks… here's one of mine!" The Napalm Bomb he fired flew straight and true into the barrel and exploded… doing even less damage than the charged shot had. "What!"

"My Skull Dozer is invulnerable!" Wily bragged. "I paid special attention to the weapons of the Robot Masters this time around, and made sure to make this mighty war machine impervious to them all!"

"All of them?" Mega repeated slowly. Wily laughed again.

"YES! Napalm Bomb, Gyro Blade, Crystal Shot, Power Stone… none of those will destroy that cannon, hero! And the other four are even more useless!"

"Other FOUR, huh…" Mega Man smiled suddenly on a thought. "You should have paid more attention… those aren't all I have at all. I have gifts from friends… friends who want you taken down as much as I do. Here's the first." Dodging another three-shot of missiles, he pointed his Buster straight into the barrel, and fired… the Super Arrow. Flying into it, the Arrow expanded, covering part of the tube's interior with sticky goo.

"What…?" Wily demanded. "What the hell is THAT?"

"Oh… just a helpful little utility." Mega remarked offhandedly, firing another and then another. Roaring, Wily activated the Dozer's suction as he moved it forward, but the force was much lessened and Mega was able to get away easily, launching more arrows into the weak spot once he was clear. The gun barrel was now quite clogged. Wily must have tried a missile, or perhaps a bomb, next; it didn't take, as was evident by the explosion from the Dozer's interior and the smoke that poured out from the sides of the mask. "Damn it… I recognize this style! This silly frippery in weapon form… Trenton Corbun made this for you, didn't he?"

"Bingo." The Blue Bomber confirmed. "There are others you hurt far worse in this Rebellion… but he still owed you one for jacking his Robot Masters. This is that."

"Bah, enough of this!" Wily gave in as the Skull Dozer ground to a halt. But it was too late; the titanic tank began rumbling ominously, and a capsule barely larger than a human shot out just in time as the entire vehicle went up in an explosion that blew Mega into the wall and shattered the only light in the room.

"Ow… all right, Wily." Mega growled. _Now… now it's time._ Sending out a mental command, he drained his last E-Tank and kept up a steady line of patter as a distraction. "Where are you? You said you had one more… bring it out, then. I'm ready for it."

"It's already here…" Wily chuckled. There was a flash of light above him, and the Blue Bomber looked up to see… a capsule supported on jets, barely containing Wily's body. It was blue like his armor, not blood red… but it was clearly the same.

"The Wilyporter." Mega Man snarled, avoiding the blob of energy that dropped to the ground, split into two and skidded along the floor. "You brought back the goddamned Wilyporter."

"And why not? It worked far better than any of my Wilymachines had!" Wily chuckled, disappearing into the darkness once more. "There was Gamma, of course, but I don't exactly have the resources to rebuild HIM… so this it is!"

"And so, you hide in the darkness…" Mega challenged him, smiling internally. _Yes… this is perfect._ "You can't beat me head-on… so you cower in the shadows."

"I use the dark to my advantage, is all!" Wily disagreed, appearing again and releasing a wave of four energy orbs that spiraled outward. "You can't hit what you can't see… and what you can't hit, I know you FEAR! You'll succumb to it, like you did in the Fourth… and this time, I shall have you!"

"Wrong… as always." Mega snapped. "I beat you in the fourth… for the people you had wronged. For the Cossacks, whose family you had torn apart to hide your evil deeds… and this time, it was MY family. My father, who you kidnapped… my cousin, your scapegoat…"

"Cousin…?" Wily sounded intrigued. "You can't possibly mean… Doc Man?"

"I do." Mega nodded. "We came to an understanding, him and me."

"I don't believe it." Wily snickered. "Doc Man's only peace… the only peace there could EVER be for a robot like that… is the peace of the grave! The peace you too shall know!"

"You say that about him… and your incorrectness is made even worse by the fact that you BUILT him." Mega shook his head in disgust, avoiding another attack. "He was your SON, Wily… and you never knew him. Not when you built him… not when he tried to kill you… and not now."

"My SON! That's rich!" Wily hooted. "He was a robot, idiot! Like you! Robots aren't family… they aren't people! They're tools! War machines… to destroy, and be destroyed! That's the only purpose they serve!"

"That limited belief is why you will lose this fight." Mega growled. "Robots are family. I am the son of Thomas Light… and it is his other son who you have wronged most of all. My brother, Blues… PROTO MAN. You made him the victim… you framed him… all for the continuation of your sick desires!"

"So?" Wily laughed again, unseen. "All's fair in war, nephew! You believed that Cossack had started the fourth… I knew you would believe that Blues started the Fifth! And you'll believe it again, and again, as I keep coming time after time!"

"WRONG." Mega Man shook his head. "Always wrong, Wily. Always. And that is why you will always lose. I won't get fooled again… Rebellions are your curse. No one else's. I'll never believe another Rebellion is caused by somebody else… never again. Over my cold, dead body, Wily… or over yours." His eyes widened. _Did I actually SAY that? And the First Law's not freezing me up… true, it's just words, but…_ He shook his head. _Now's not the time for that… but it's almost the time for something else…_

"Ha… we'll see about THAT." Wily snorted, appearing for a brief flash and firing again. "And even so… that's only if you win THIS fight! Not bad dodging all my attacks so far… but you haven't even fired off one of your own in return at all! You'd better start taking this seriously, Mega Man… you're all alone here! If you don't fight me, nobody's going to do it for you!" The Blue Bomber's eyes glinted.

_NOW._ "Oh? Is that so?" His smile widened. "And just what make you so sure… I AM alone?" In the dark, behind the controls of his Wilyporter, the ancient maniac's eyes widened.

"What… do you mean?" And then he heard it… the sound of impossibility. The sound that haunted his nightmares, as they haunted Mega Man's… almost as much as Mega Man himself stalked his dreams.

"_YEEAAA HAA HA HA HA!"_ And the Wilyporter… registered damage.

"What…" Dr. Wily whispered, glancing frantically into the darkness, seeing nothing; whatever had struck had already vanished into the shadows again. "No… no! You wouldn't have... You couldn't have! You said you killed him!"

"I lied." Mega shrugged easily. "I said we came to an understanding. Our understanding… was over YOU." Now he drew his Buster, and fired a charged shot in the direction of the voice. Damage.

"You let him live?" Wily's voice was horrified. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Not for anybody else." Mega nodded. "But for you, Wily… you're special. And he's not the only one here." From a different direction, Wily heard another sound… a four-note, five-tone whistle. And again… damage.

"Proto Man…" He hissed. "All of you… here?"

"All three of us… for payback against YOU!" Mega Man yelled. "YOU, Wily! It was all YOU! The Rebellion! The framing! The deaths! The destruction! The kidnapping! The fights! The lies! The manipulation! ALL BECAUSE _YOU_ HAD TO TEAR THE WORLD APART AGAIN!" The whistle and the laugh came again, as Mega Man fired once more… and the Wilyporter was damaged even more. Frantic, Dr. Wily began moving the machine around.

"No… no! Get away! Don't come near me…!" Damage. Laughing. Damage. Whistling. DAMAGE.

"For my father… for my sister… for my friends… for everybody who's been jerked around by you." Mega Man advanced on him, eyes blazing. "My brother… my cousin… and me. We're taking you down, Wily… and then…" He grinned like a skull, a grin he had learned from a robot who had done it all his life. "Well… then you'd just better hope the two of us who still have the First Law in our heads can hold back the one who DOESN'T." On cue, the laugh came once more.

"You can't…. mean…" Wily was sweating bucket loads now. Not even trying to fight back… not even trying to conceal the position given away by his voice. "No… no! Leave me alone! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF!" Mega Man roared. "You screwed with ALL our lives… and this is what you get for it!" He fired a charged shot. "You maniac… you MONSTER. This was a long time in coming… you've terrorized this world five times now…" He fired again. "But now… YOU'RE the one who's terrorized, aren't you? AREN'T YOU!" He fired a third time, now point-blank into the machine. Through the front of the capsule, barely lit by the plasma fire, Wily saw his enemy's face filled with an intense overriding fury. "ARE YOU AFRAID, WILY!"

"I… I…" Wily's head jerked around frantically. Laughter. Damage. Whistle. Damage. MEGA MAN. DAMAGE. And the Wilyporter could take no more. The eject sequence kicked in automatically, and Wily was hurled from it onto his greatest enemy as the machine exploded behind him. "Rock… Rock! Don't hurt me… don't hurt me any more! Help me… please, help me, Rock!"

"…" Mega Man grabbed him, none too gently, and dropped him on the floor. Slowly, with the Wilyporter destroyed, the lights turned on; the reason for their deactivation was destroyed. And as they did, Wily saw the source of laughter and whistle.

"A… bird?" He whispered, disbelieving. "A little… blue… bird?"

"That's right." Mega Man confirmed, holding out his hand for Beat to perch on. Looking down at the madman, Beat replayed the sounds Mega had had him record and replay… sounds the Blue Bomber could imitate perfectly by now. The sound of laughter… the sound of a whistle… metal claws that could gouge into anything… and enemy-locating eyes that could see even in the dark. "A bird. Sergei Cossack made him… I'm sure he'll be thrilled to know how well he was used here. As will my brother… and my cousin, who IS dead, wherever he is now." And somewhere, in the back of his mind… Mega Man could almost hear the cackle of approving, maniacal laughter. "Now, then. My father. Take me to him. NOW."

"Yes, yes of course…" Wily bowed unctuously and slowly tottered to his feet, leading him down a hall behind the room. They emerged in another laboratory… and there, hanging in a cage from the ceiling… was a sight that made Mega almost feel good even towards Wily. His father… Dr. Thomas Light.

"Rock!" Dr. Light shouted hoarsely. "Rock, you're here! I was afraid… some kind of trick…"

"Dad!" Rock yelled back, jumping up. "No, I came. I made it. Hold on!" He bent the steel bars apart, then jumped to the ground. "Come on… I'll catch you!" Dr. Light hopped down into his son's arms. "Dad… are you okay?"

"Worn, tired, dirty, but otherwise not harmed." Dr. Light assured him. "If Albert had kept me in his own custody for longer, such might not be the case, but his decoy did not seem to care about abusing me. I'll be fine, son."

"It's over, dad… it's all over." Rock whispered. "All of it. Doc Man said you figured out about him…" Dr. Light nodded slowly, not trusting himself to speak. "Dad… he cleared Blues' name. On worldwide television."

"Then… it IS all over." Dr. Light realized. "Everything… is fine now." Even Beat was chirping happily. Mega nodded.

"Everything…" Mega frowned. "Wait… Wily!" The evil old scientist had disappeared. "Damn… he got away again!" Suddenly, the room began shaking. "What… what the hell?"

"Rock, what is it?" Dr. Light looked around, eyes wide.

"The Fortress…" Mega Man realized. "It's collapsing! That… maniac activated the self-destruct!" With a roar, the ceiling plunged downward, and for a moment, Dr. Light saw death rushing towards him… but as he threw himself to the ground, the ceiling stopped, only four feet high. Looking behind him, Dr. Light gasped. Impossibly… unbelievably… Mega Man was holding it up. He was holding the entire ceiling up.

"Dad…" The Blue Bomber croaked, agony tearing at his frame. "Go… run. There'll be a way out… in back of here… Wily used."

"But…" Dr. Light protested.

"GO!" Mega thundered. "I'll catch up… I can teleport! Run… before the threat to you makes the First Law turn me off entirely! We'll both die, dad!"

"…" Dr. Light stared at him for a moment longer, then nodded and crawled away as fast as he could. Once he was gone, Mega let out a slight sigh of relief, then chuckled darkly.

"Well… that's the First Law off my back, anyways." He winced. "Damn, this hurts… I wish Wily hadn't put that teleporter shield up. Otherwise, I might be able to go somewhere outside of the Fortress… someplace that's not falling down like this. I doubt even the roofs are safe. Sucks to be me, I suppose…" He blinked. The weight had suddenly vanished. "Who…?" He heard a four-tone, five-note whistle from behind him. "Wha… Blues!"

"Get moving, idiot!" Proto Man yelled. "Follow dad! I've got another way out, but you need to move, now! You're thrashed!"

"What do you mean, you've got another way out?" Mega demanded. "There IS no other way out-"

"MOVE, MORON!" Proto Man screamed in agony. "I told you I'd never leave you behind again! I'm not going to, ever! I've got this, brother… trust me! Now LEAVE!" Biting his lip, Mega Man nodded… and he turned and ran, as Skull Fortress V collapsed around him.

"There it goes…" Rock muttered. He had removed his helmet, and now stood a mile off from Skull Fortress V as it finished its implosion. Morning had come while they were inside there, and the sky was bright, blue and cloudless. Also blue was the flying saucer that slowly lifted away from the dying Fortress and then flew off over the horizon and away. Rock sighed. "He got away again… he's still out there, once more."

"One can't have everything." Dr. Light told him sagely. "You stopped a Rebellion, saved me, cleared Blues' name and, if what I heard of that fight was any indication, avenged wrongs done to many people. Even Wily cannot keep going forever… someday, you'll stop him permanenty, Rock." Rock thought back to what Doc Man had said, and he shuddered.

"_Plain and simple, cousin. My dad… Wily… he won't stop. He'll just keep coming, on and on… UNTIL YOU KILL HIM."_

"…Maybe." He sighed. "We'll see… next time. One thing's for sure… I'm not buying into any more of his garbage. Next time I'll know it's him, no matter what he does." He smiled. "I'll bet that's a relief, isn't it, bro?"

"…Yeah." Blues chuckled from behind them. "I'm not even going to ask how you knew I was there."

"Blues…" Dr. Light turned now. "Thank you. I'm so sorry this happened to you…"

"Wily's fault… not even close to yours, dad." Blues shrugged. "And I hear my name's been cleared thanks to another erstwhile family member… so it's all cool."

"That it has… that it is." Mega smiled. "Thanks for the save, by the way… I would have been dead without you."

"I meant what I said." Blues shrugged. "I've got your back, bro… always. I'll never abandon the family again." Behind him, Melee Moth stirred restlessly.

"Good thing you had that guy." Mega remarked. "He was that way out you were talking about, eh?"

"Er… well…" Blues shuffled his feet. "To be honest… I didn't remember him until AFTER you were gone. I thought I had had it."

"You IDIOT!" Rock exploded. "You were going to… to…" His eyes widened. "You… dad was already gone. So was Wily. There were no humans… just me. You stood up to… you broke the Third Law, Blues."

"When I say something… I mean it." Blues sighed. "But damn, that was a pisser… fighting against that AND the ceiling. I could really do with a week's rest in Honolulu, believe me."

"I think we all could." Dr. Light smiled. "There will likely be all sorts of chaos to settle when we first get back, but once that's all settled, I daresay Darwin will be able to arrange something."

"Sounds like a plan." Blues removes his own helmet. "Come on then… let's ride the big bug express back to civilization. Sydney's the nearest city… this broadcast you mentioned DID go there, right, Rock? I don't think I'd like being fired upon AGAIN, especially NOW."

"Like dad said, there'll probably be some hassles… some angry officials… but in the end, I think it'll come out okay." Rock assured him. "Shall we ride, then?"

"Oh, yes…" Blues growled, elbowing him in the ribs. "And on the way back, I can chew you out for not following the plan and taking on Wily single-handedly! You're just lucky I wasn't THAT far behind you!"

"I think you'll be keeping the anger controlled once you found out how he dealt with Albert this time." Dr. Light remarked mildly as the three of them boarded Melee Moth's back. Blues raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Is that so? Why don't you tell me about that then…" Melee Moth rose and flew away towards the south, with its three passengers laughing, joking and bickering good-naturedly.

Father and brothers… family, reunited at last.


	17. Chapter 16: The Real Folk Blues

_**Chapter 16: The Real Folk Blues**_

_"We, the jury, find Blues 'Proto Man' Light… innocent of all charges."_ The juror on the television declared, followed by a rousing cheer from the spectators. Blues Light sat on the hotel room's couch, casually sipping from a L-Tank as he gazed upon the almighty tube of media glorification.

"Hey, Blues." Rock walked in. "Still watching that? What is this, the fiftieth time?"

"Hundredth." Blues corrected with a shrug. "It never gets old. Nothing in the world quite like freedom, bro." Both of the sons of Light had ditched their battle armor, reverting to jeans and t-shirts, although Blues still wore his shades and the banana-yellow scarf. Rock raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing quite like freedom? Blues, you weren't even locked up overnight."

"It's the thought that counts." Blues shrugged again. "And I was doing a LOT of thinking about life without parole, IF I was lucky, towards the end there. I suppose I should watch more current news, really, but with everything you guys told me about the anti-robot issue that happened while I was, ah, indisposed, I haven't been able to bring myself to look."

"Don't worry about it." Rock flopped down next to him. "When it came out that Wily really WAS pulling all the strings-again-the movement pretty much fell flat on its face. For now, anyways. The issue's still there, and it'll probably come back up sooner or later… but for the moment, we're safe. Even that dumb-as-hell registration act has been pulled… which is good, since we never DID send ours in."

"Really? Cool." Blues tossed the empty L-Tank canister towards a trash can. It missed and bounced off Rush's head, prompting a confused yip. "Whoops, sorry." Beat chirped and correctly disposed of the can, then perched on Rush's head. To his credit, the robotic canine had taken to the new family member's arrival much better than when he had met Eddie. Glancing up at the round blue bird for a moment, he yawned and lay back down, closing his eyes.

"All right, you two, get off your behinds." Roll ordered as she walked in. "We're going down to have a look at the new house. It's just about finished."

"Really? That was fast." Rock commented as he and Blues stood up.

"Well, they weren't building it from scratch." His sister reminded him. "Just modifying an existing one. Add to that the fact that Mr. X is paying for it, and that he tends to offer bonuses for fast quality work-BIG bonuses-and there you go."

"True enough." Dr. Light agreed with her as he joined his family. "Let's go, then." Leaving the hotel and piling into Light's old green pickup truck, they drove off.

"Aren't you ever going to trade this junker in, dad?" Blues inquired. "It was already ancient and beat-up back when you first built me."

"This car has history." Dr. Light protested. "You just don't properly appreciate antiques… just like Rock doesn't with music." Blues lowered his shades to stare incredulously over them at his brother.

"You don't like the Runaway Five?"

"I just don't like my music depressing, is all." Rock defended himself. "Is that too much to ask?"

"Apparently, five minutes without an argument is." Roll muttered. The younger of her brothers snorted.

"This from the girl who complains at least fifty times about every single little scratch I bring back."

"That's BECAUSE this girl has had to REPAIR every single little scratch five HUNDRED times!" Roll shot back.

"Enough, children." Dr. Light told them wearily. "We're here." He parked the truck in front of the house, and they all looked at it. It was a large, pleasant three-story building, fitting right in with the other similarly built domiciles around the neighborhood; the model home for a well-off retiree and his children (or grandchildren, most would guess from the visible age differential). The one large, visible difference was the oddly egg-shaped structure bulging from the east side. Wisely, Dr. Light had chosen to locate his laboratory separate from the main house this time (the previous lab's location on the second floor had had more than a few near-disastrous repercussions when an experiment went badly). Three men, ages ranging from almost fifty to almost seventy, were watching the construction with interest.

"X, Trenton." Dr. Light greeted them happily. "And Darwin! I didn't know you were here."

"I came by for a look." Vinkus explained. "It really looks quite nice, I think… you should be happy here."

"Yeah." Blues sighed. "I do miss the old place, though."

"So do I." Roll admitted. "But it was too far away from anybody else… this new house isn't exactly in a fortified compound, but Wily won't be able to hide a robot army HERE without people noticing from miles off. Come on, let's go take a look around back!" The robot girl ran off, followed by Blues, Dr. Light, Corbun and X. Rock was about to go as well when he saw Vinkus walking towards him.

"Actually, Rock, I also came because I thought you might be here before long… there was a matter I wish to talk with you of." The UN Councilor admitted. Rock nodded respectfully.

"Yes?"

"Doc Man." Vinkus frowned seriously. "In his initial rampage, five years ago… you told me, and the world, that he was simply another dupe of Albert Wily. That he was operating on my mad former friend's wishes the entire time." Rock nodded slowly, dreading what he knew was coming. "And yet… when he sent out that television broadcast of his final fight with you, in order to clear Blues' name… I noticed something. Most people probably didn't pick up on the meaning of this, but Doc Man stated then… that his actions during the Third were caused by his insanity, and that he was actually trying to kill both you and Albert. That Albert had no control over him in the Third at all. Rock… was he telling the truth?"

"…Yes." Rock lowered his eyes. There was no way around it. "Yes, he was. I'm sorry, Councilor… we were afraid the world would react the way… well, the way it did when those two faked my brother's control for the Fifth. Nobody outside of our family, and the Cossacks, knew. And please… I'd like to keep it that way, as much as possible. This recent scare was bad enough."

"So that's the way it is…" Vinkus murmured, a bit distantly. "Yes, of course… that is indeed the best course of action. Very well then… now come, let us join the others around back. I believe there is quite a large amount of garden space…" Walking around the house and dodging a construction worker with a jackhammer, they met the others. Vinkus was right; the garden space WAS quite large.

"Not as big as the forest, but I can manage…" Dr. Light mused. "And we won't have any problems with deer coming by for a snack here."

"There's plenty of rooms… looks like we'll each have our own stasis capsule room with plenty of guest chambers, and a lot of space for other things like a library and an office." Roll guessed. "Plus with the lab on the side like that, no more mess spilling out into the halls."

"Does that door lead right out onto the roof? Pretty nice." Blues shaded his eyes. "View's great here, too… you can see the entire city down there. Well, maybe not the ENTIRE city, but you know what I mean."

"Lots of space for Rush and Eddie-and Beat now-to run around." Rock smiled. "And great atmosphere… homey. Yes sir… I think we're going to do just fine here for a long time."

"Indeed." Dr. Light looked at the house once more with a strange gleam in his eye. "The cabin was nice, but this… this feels like home."

* * *

"Ah… that's today's work finished." Dr. Cossack stretched and yawned. "Can you clean up in here, Dust Man?"

"Affirmative, sir." The Robot Master nodded, though it was hard to tell with his head shape. "Although, with all due respect, over reliance on our kind for everyday chores has shown to create laxness in humans."

"I normally do it myself." Dr. Cossack defended himself. "Just this once, Dust."

"Very well, Doctor." Dust Man agreed. Turning, he began tidying up the Russian robotocist's workbench. Cossack left the lab and walked down the hall towards the living room; for some reason, he felt like watching the television, whatever was on, although he normally didn't hold much with the box. Upon entering, however, he discovered that Kalinka had beat him to it; his daughter was flopped on the couch, idly watching some bizarre cartoon involving a muscular man and a Jack Russell terrier, both wearing Mexican wrestling masks, pile driving a pair of cowboys.

"I will never understand the things you kids watch today." Cossack complained, relaxing in an armchair. "Besides, watching too much of this isn't healthy to do."

"There isn't much else to do around here with Blues and his family gone." Kalinka muttered, not looking up. Cossack couldn't dispute the point. "He could have stayed longer."

"They wished to return to their home… it is a new house in the city, so it will take some getting used to." Cossack shrugged. "Doubtless they will visit again before long… they do quite often."

"True…" Kalinka admitted. "But they could have stayed one more day, at least…"

"And for every day they did, you would be asking for one more." Dr. Cossack smiled lightly. "They had to leave some time, Kalinka… that is simply the way it goes. Their place is in Tokyo… and ours is here."

"Does it have to be?" Kalinka wondered. "Father… will we always stay here, in this empty castle? With nobody else around, especially the people we care for most? Why don't we go to Tokyo as well… or at least Moscow? Or someplace else?"

"I have considered it before." Cossack admitted. "But… no. Not as long as he remains."

"Dr. Albert Wily?" Pharaoh Man walked into the room. Cossack nodded somberly.

"Yes… that madman's evil deeds grow more and more atrocious with each Rebellion. Even the Lights were not safe… now they have moved into a well-off neighborhood, where Wily will hopefully not be able to strike against them without being noticed. But I… I cannot do the same. Here… we are safe here, and here alone. As long as Wily is a threat to the world… a threat to you, Kalinka… we shall not leave these castle walls."

"And that's it?" Kalinka muttered, still watching the cartoon. "We just stay here, growing older, while the world is hit by Rebellions around us? That's all? There's got to be something else we can do…"

"There is, Mistress Kalinka." Pharaoh Man spoke again. "We help them. The Lights. Master Sergei aids Thomas Light in his experiments… you are always ready to help support Blues Light… even I and my brothers assisted Mega Man with his assault on Doc Man's fortress. We can help them, Mistress Kalinka… in whatever fashion we can. That is what we can do."

"That is what we WILL do." Cossack nodded. "And someday, Kalinka… someday, all this will end. One of these days, we will be able to put it all behind us."

"Someday…" Slowly, Kalinka Cossack smiled. "Yes. We will."

* * *

_Laughter. Damage. Whistle. Damage. MEGA MAN. DAMAGE. Grinning face, demon's smile… pain. Masking sunglasses, twisted smirk… agony. _

_Blue armor… plasma burning… NO…_

"AAAAAH!" Dr. Albert Wily shrieked, sitting bolt upright on the pitiful, ragged cot he slept on. Shaking violently, he ran his fingers through the twin mops of wild hair that covered the sides of his bald dome. "A dream… a nightmare. Nothing more… just a nightmare." But Wily knew it was more than that. It wouldn't have been the same one, over and over again, otherwise. It was a memory, one that would not leave his head. Before, every time he had fought Mega Man, he had lost in the end, yes. But he had always kept control of the fight up until that end… he had always been the one intimidating his enemy, the one causing fear and terror in the other. That had been good, yes… but this time… the fifth time… everything had changed. Mega Man had relentlessly, almost easily, destroyed his first two Wilymachines… and then, faced with the Wilyporter that had almost caused him to give in after the fourth, he had… he had…

"No…" Wily whispered hoarsely to himself. "Don't think about that…" He forced his thoughts away from the memory of the incident, of the battle. "Think about something else. Think about… the future. Plan for the future. Plan… for the next Rebellion." He paused for a moment, lost in the chaos of his own head.

Ever since the teleporter accident nine years ago, Albert Wily had been a insane shell of his former self. The accident had scrambled his brain, driven it into insanity and despair, and the condition only worsened as time went by. In many ways, the man who Albert Wily was before the accident had died on the day it occurred. The man who he was before then, had he known of the sins he would some day commit, would have taken his own life then and there to prevent them. It had begun as a desire to rule the world… to put an end to all the stupidity, all the foolishness, perpetuated by humanity and their robotic servants. But it had changed… Wily told himself that was still his purpose, but he knew in his heart that that was not true. That had slipped away… sometime after the Third, was it, or maybe after the Fourth… no, it was after the Third… it had gone, anyways, and had been replaced by a far more specific purpose. Mega Man. His nemesis, his adversary, the one grain of sand that always broke all the gears. Mega Man was the reason for his existence, the reason he kept going, the reason he brought one hell after another upon the world. Mega Man… was the one he would kill. If it was the last thing Dr. Albert Wily did… he would see Mega Man dead before him.

"The Lights have moved now… I will be unable to strike at them directly." Wily mused. "And the Cossacks remain in that dratted castle, making them an invalid target as well… but there are others." The insane old scientist chuckled. "There will always be others… always be somebody. As long as I am alive… as long as HE is alive… the Rebellions will continue." Lying back down on the cot, in a hidden underground lair far away from civilization where nobody would ever locate him, Dr. Albert Wily was soon asleep again, dreams of chaos and madness filling his mind once more.

* * *

"Eh?" Louis Arcian frowned as he heard rapping on his door, accompanied a moment later by the ringing of the doorbell. "Now I wonder who that could be?" Getting to his feet, the Councilor turned off the movie he had been watching and crossed the room. He lived in a posh penthouse apartment in Paris with an excellent view-one of the perks of his position-and so it was unlikely that it would be a door-to-door salesman or a girl scout or anything of the like. Growing up with rich parents before his career, Arcian had only a faint idea of what such people were like. They probably bit, he figured. The caller knocked again, and Arcian fought down a surge of anger.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He growled, undoing the several locks on the door. Once couldn't be too careful these days with all the damned Robot Masters around, after all. A chilling thought struck him; what if the caller WAS a Robot Master? If it was… there was only one reason one of those abominations would be calling on HIM. Slowly peeking around the door as it opened, Arcian jumped back in fear as his guest knocked it irritably open. He sighed in relief as he saw who it was.

"Darwin… what are you doing here?" Darwin Vinkus stepped aside, shaking the rain off his gray raincoat and hat. He was not carrying an umbrella, apparently; instead, he was using a sapphire-handled walking stick.

"You requested a private conference with me so often, I thought it would be best if we talked in person." The older man replied, the faintest flicker of sarcasm filling his tone. This, of course, was completely lost on Arcian.

"Ah yes, I have been." Arcian frowned, remembering. He shook his head and gave his colleague an oily smile. "We DO need to talk, Darwin… coat hanger's near the door. Can I offer you a drink?"

"I'm fine." Vinkus shook his head. "What exactly did you wish to speak of, Louis? I don't really see any problems between us…" Arcian's smile evaporated.

"Well, my friend… to be honest… some of us are starting to wonder about you."

"Is that so." Vinkus replied noncommittally. Arcian nodded.

"Yes, indeed. Oh, some of us say there's nothing to worry about, that you're the same old Darwin Vinkus the robots know and hate, but others… well, we look at the way you've been behaving recently. What with the opening we've been waiting for and all… and you coming down on the other side of it, much to the surprise of all of us…"

"So that's what this is about…" Vinkus murmured. "I see…"

"Yes, well, you can't blame us for worrying." Arcian continued, a nasty smile coming back to his features. "Just a little… we don't actually think you've really gone pro-robot… have you?"

"I remember my place… my beliefs." Vinkus answered shortly.

"Well, that's good to know." Arcian purred. "I'm sure we'll all be absolutely relieved to hear that from you, old friend. Especially continuing how much time you spend with Thomas Light…" Something flashed in Vinkus' eyes.

"I do not believe my contacts with the Light family are any of yours-or the UN's-business, Louis."

"Family?" Arcian scoffed. "Since when were robots family? Most worrisome, old friend. Of course it's our business… we do have to make sure we're all still committed to the same purpose, after all. And I do think you've been wavering a bit lately… getting a bit too close to that traitor to his species, Light. And his damned creations… you've been just a bit TOO chummy with them lately, Darwin. One might almost think you LIKE those mechanical bast-"

The blow to his head from Vinkus' cane stopped Arcian's speech immediately, and sent him spinning into a wall.

"Shut up." The older Councilor snarled, stepping up to the fallen Frenchman and laying into him viciously with the wooden stick. "YOU'RE the one who's a disgrace to your species… and your country, for that matter. How YOU made it onto the United Nations, even with the state it's in, I'll never know." Severely battered about the head and shoulder area, Arcian raised his arms to ward off further blows.

"Vinkus, you-"

"You singleminded, witch-hunting, prehistoric throwback." Vinkus sneered, dripping acid from every word. "THIS is why we all remain in constant contact with each other, even beyond the general meetings of the UN… so that those of us like ME can keep those of us like YOU from ruining it all. You never had much disguising your feelings already… and now you have nothing. EVERYBODY knows what you are NOW. Thank whatever gods there are that some of our other allies on that Council have more sense."

"You mean…" Arcian's eyes widened. "Then it was all a ruse?"

"No, you dolt." Vinkus shook his head despairingly. "It was real. ALL of it was real… on both sides of the issue. I support and aid my good friends, including the family of Light, but at the same time I have not forgotten my true beliefs. Which am I, you ask? The robot-hating Vinkus or the Vinkus who sees people for who they are, not what they're made of? The answer is so simple that only somebody with your level of ignorance could miss it. I'm BOTH, Louis. I'm a better politician than you could ever be. I can change my face and my emotions at a moment's notice. Oh, maybe it's true that the Light children are making me wonder. But you didn't see me step out to defend Blues Light, did you? No. Don't question me again, Louis. I don't need my choice in friends debated by YOU. I can choose my friends, yes, even robot masters, with absolute confidence. For I know that such friendships, even if they are real, will not affect my decisions in the slightest."

"You…" Arcian stumbled groggily to his feet. "I'll tell the other Councilors… you won't get… away with this…"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Vinkus remarked coldly, smashing the cane into his colleague's gut. As Arcian doubled over, the older Councilor grabbed him by the collar. "The other Councilors are smarter than you are. Not that that's saying much. And even if they weren't, it won't matter in the long term. The UN is doomed, Louis; it won't last two decades more. When people like YOU are getting elected, it's a sign of the times; the fact that we HAVE to depend on Rock Light to stop the Rebellions should prove that. And when the Council collapses, I'll never have to deal with any of you incompetents ever again. That's a day I'll look forward to. And Louis…" He drove the cane into the Frenchman's face one more time. "Don't you EVER malign the Light family again… I may have more than thirty years on you, but if I ever hear that kind of filth spewed from that orifice you call a mouth about my friends again, what I'll do to you will make today seem gentle by comparison. I'm going back to Japan… remember what I told you today." Kicking the fallen man in the side a few times for good measure, Darwin Vinkus turned and left, taking the elevator down.

_I lied, _He thought to himself as he stepped outside and hailed a taxi. _Or did I? Now, yes, I can change myself, my outward appearance towards robots at a moment's notice… but could I before? During the Fifth… was I really just playing a part? Did I ever… truly… no. It matters not. The Fifth is past… and now… now I know. Rock… Mega Man. He lied. The best of the robots… and yet he lied to me, to all of us, about a robot who killed humans without another human behind him. Mega Man cannot be trusted… and if he can not, no robot can. I am still me… I will not become like that fool Arcian. Robot Masters are necessary… they are useful. They can be relied upon, they can be used for the benefit of humanity… but they cannot be trusted. _

_Never again._

* * *

The cliff was on the very edge of Japan, and of the forest; walking out of the trees and sitting on the edge, one could watch the sunset, spreading its vibrant color over the waves far below. At this moment, one individual was doing just that. Idly hucking rocks, he never took his eyes off of the beauty spread out before him. Not even when he heard footsteps behind him, followed by a familiar whistle.

"Thought I'd find you out here." Blues Light chuckled, sitting down beside his brother. "What gives? Isn't the disappearing act supposed to be my gig?"

"I just needed some time to think… this seemed like a good place for it." Rock answered. "It always was back when we lived near here."

"Yeah…" Blues made a face. "I really did like that house."

"So you've said before." Rock sighed. "So did we all… but times change. When you think about everything that really could have happened… a house isn't much of a price to pay on a personal level. That could easily have been one of us instead… any one of us."

"But it wasn't." Blues reminded him firmly. "People died, yes… Wily's robots killed a lot of people, like they always do. But our family… our friends… we all came out of it okay, didn't we?"

"This time." The younger son of Light admitted. "This time… but what about the next time? Wily's still out there, and you know he won't stop. It's only a matter of time before somebody we care about does die."

"If you start thinking like that, Wily's already won the next one." Blues told him. "We'll get him, Rock. Every time he comes, we'll stop him, until one time he doesn't get away… and we'll put him back behind bars, like you did after the first two Rebellions. This time for keeps."

"Maybe…" Rock sighed, thinking of Doc Man's prophecy again. "…Yeah. We will. And nobody else… no more friends, no more family… are going to die." Blues looked at him without speaking for a long moment.

"You're thinking of Doc Man, aren't you?"

"Kinda." Rock admitted. "Although… that wasn't SO bad. He did it himself, you know… he wanted to die. He said this world didn't have anything left for him… that he liked the next one better."

"So… he believed we Robot Masters DO have souls?" Blues wondered. "And that there's an afterlife… one we go to? I've always wondered about that…" Rock nodded.

"Yeah… he claimed to have memories of it. Said a lot of crazy stuff-no, not crazy like that. Just weird. I still dunno if he was telling the truth, or just faking… but whatever it was, he died happy this time."

"At the end of everything, I suppose that's all we really can ask for…" Blues mused. "Well, at least now we know-or at least suspect-that if and when we do pass on ourselves… there'll be somebody kindly disposed towards us waiting to show us around the place."

"Yeah." Rock sighed. "But for now… we still have things to do in this world. And a new home to break in."

"You know, dad used to live there. Before he built us." Blues remembered with a smile.

"Really?" Rock raised an eyebrow. "What happened? And why didn't he bring that up?"

"He blew a hole in it the size of the truck." Blues explained with a straight face.

"Ah. That would do it." Rock answered, equally straight. A moment passed, and then both brothers started laughing. "So… when will you be taking off again?"

"In a little while." Blues admitted. "I've still got my wanderlust… I won't be giving up my travels. But I think I've got a lot of family time built up right now… and a visit to somebody else too… and when I do start traveling again, I'll be making an effort to stay in touch with both a lot more. This isn't going to happen again."

"I'm glad." Rock smiled. "I missed ya, bro."

"Yeah, same to you, you big lunk." Blues chuckled. "And I mean it, too… look what you got into when I left you by yourself for just a little bit. What would you do without me, eh? Come on, let's go stop dad and Roll from panicking."

"Are they panicking?" Rock inquired, raising an eyebrow. Blues shrugged.

"Well, I don't know it for sure, but you know what they get like. Come on, let's hit it." As the last light from the sun faded, the brothers stood up and walked away, arm in arm.


	18. Epilogue & Author's Note

**_Epilogue: Never Give Up_**

Blues Light looked up at the ancient stone castle before him and whistled-not his favorite tune, but just a simple noise of amazement. "I swear, every time I come here this place gets bigger." He made sure to be seen by one of the security robots as soon as possible; once they recognized him, they wouldn't consider him a possible threat. Walking along to the east wall, he looked up at a tree. "Yup… still looks as sound as ever." Many people who had been surprised by Blues' mysterious entrances and uncanny ability to get inside closely guarded places without being noticed had simply forgotten to take into account nearby foliage and a truly amazing skill at climbing up it in mere seconds-a survival trait developed by Blues during his years in the African Congo. Quickly reaching the walltop, he scurried over it and into the castle's courtyard, which he hurdled to reach the top of one of the towers. Sidling up next to a window in the side of the large central tower, he did not let look in or let any part of himself be seen. Instead, he simply knocked on it, then whistled his tune. A moment later, he heard the countersign; the next line in the more extended version. Smiling, he left the tower and jumped back onto the walls, slipping into the shadows at a certain spot along the east side and waiting. After several minutes, a short figure walked up to him. It was Kalinka, wearing a dark red robe over her nightgown. Something yellow flickered at her neck, and looking closer, Blues saw that she was wearing the yellow scarf he had given her in Moscow shortly before the Rebellion had begun.

"Blues?" She whispered. "Where are you?"

"Right here." Blues stepped out of the shadows. "Signal still works as good as ever, I see."

"Of course it does." Kalinka smirked slightly. "Did you really think I'd forget it?"

"No, not really." The eldest son of Light admitted. "Anyways, I know we saw each other after my brother whupped Wily, but we never really got a chance to talk by ourselves, so I figured I'd pop by again before I headed off on my travels once more." To Kalinka's credit, she recovered from her surprise faster than Rock had upon hearing that same news.

"So, what far-off place are you headed to as the lone explorer this time?" She teased him gently. "The Caribbean? The Valley of the Kings? Antarctica?"

"I haven't really decided yet." Blues shrugged. "I figure I'll just go wherever the wind takes me… that's what I usually tend to do in the end anyways. But don't worry; I told my family I'd be calling and visiting more often than I did in the past couple years, and that goes for you and yours too. I'll be staying in touch."

"I'm… glad." Kalinka smiled. "That makes me feel better, knowing that… happy."

"I thought it might." Blues smiled. "Speaking of my family… how did you get along with them while they were staying here? Rock's pretty easygoing, but my sister's not the easiest person in the world to get along with…"

"We were arguing for a while, yes." Kalinka admitted. "But in the end, we became friends. I'd like to see her again sometime… all of them. Go visit them in Tokyo."

"We could probably arrange that." Blues nodded. "How about Rush and Eddie, then? Did THEY behave?"

"Mostly." Kalinka giggled. "There was one incident with the toaster, though… my father used some language I didn't even know people his age KNEW…"

"Hey, the doc's not THAT old." Blues chuckled. "And besides, age doesn't mean nothing… my dad knows some phrases that might even turn Roll's head, although he'd sooner set fire to his own beard than actually use them. The toaster, though… what the heck did the toaster do?"

"Explode." Kalinka informed him with a straight face. Blues groaned.

"Remind me to forward some suggestions to the family about the use of a rolled-up newspaper regarding those two… three now, I suppose, since Beat's joined them. Boy, will that be fun."

"Yes…" Kalinka nodded. "Probably a good idea. But… a trip to Tokyo, you said?"

"Yeah, next time I come back here I'll talk with your dad about it." Blues promised. "There's all kinds of stuff there to show you… we can even go see Mr. X's Robot Museum. I've been once already, but it'll be great going again… it's really cool, believe me."

"I'll look forward to it." Kalinka smiled again, then let it drop. A few more moment passed, with the two of them looking at the Siberian landscape outside the walls. "Blues… the arguments I had with Roll… they were about you."

"Oh?" Blues remarked. She nodded.

"About… if you were really the one behind this."

"I guessed as much." Blues admitted. "I… don't blame Roll, or any of them, for being taken in, Kalinka… it was a really skilled swindle. It wasn't their fault they fell for it."

"I know that now." Kalinka whispered. "But Blues…" He turned to look at her again.

"Yeah?"

"I never gave up on you…" The Russian girl told him. "Even at the end… I never did."

"…I know." Blues murmured. "I knew… you wouldn't. That was one of the things that helped me keep going… even when it got toughest. I knew you'd still believe in me."

"I always will." Kalinka promised. "No matter what happens."

"I know that too." Blues agreed. "And I'll always be there for you… remember that, Kalinka. Always. This will never happen again… I'll never LET this happen again. From now on, whenever you need me… I'll be there. Period. Always. No matter what."

"Thank you, Blues." Kalinka smiled once more. "Thank you."

"It's simple truth… and yet, a lot of the time that's what's worth the most." Blues stretched. "I'll be off, then… I'll see you soon." Kalinka nodded, and before he knew it, darted in to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. Waving, she darted off into the castle's interior. Rubbing his cheek, Blues looked over at Pharaoh Man, who was leaning against the wall further on, hidden in the shadows. The Egyptian-themed Robot Master's eyebrows were raised. Blues growled. "What?"

"I didn't say anything." Pharaoh Man replied, turning and leaving as well. Blues glowered after him, then chuckled, and then laughed, deep and happy. He was still laughing as he climbed down the tree and set off across the Siberian wilderness outside the castle walls, a wanderer once more… but not one without a home. Never again. He had family, he had friends… he had others… and no matter what happened, no matter where he went… THEY would always be there for HIM, too.

What more could a brother want?

**_Author's Note_**

And so it's over. My sixth Novelization, the fifth Mega Man game, and my third combination of both. I could say it sounds like more work than it really is, but I'd be full of it; it may not be lifting heavy crates at the local grocery store (I've done it, so I can compare from experience), but this still ain't easy. Not if you want it to come out good, anyways. But judging from the responses I've been getting, it's still good enough to keep you all happy. If so, I've done my job (although that won't stop me from complaining about needing a raise, and this is a completely nonprofit gig. I might even be operating at a loss if you count the occasional soda I have to buy for my editor to get him to do his job). _While YOU occasionally need a verbal beating to do yours.-Interfering Editor _Another one in the bag, who knows how many more to go.

**Legalities and Thank Yous**

Right, get the obligatory stuff out of the way first. Mega Man 5 and everything related to it are copyright Capcom. I make no claims to them whateosever; HOWEVER, this Novelization itself and anything I came up with on my own ARE mine. So don't get any bright ideas about ripping them off, or when I find out (and I will), I'll rip YOU a new one. No, not in the literal physical way. In the hey-look-my-dad's-a-judge way.  
Now for something nicer; the thank-yous. First off, for the four fellas I still consider, even now, the four pillars of the Mega Man writing community. Red Draco, Malegrim, Jemode, and my own mentor and teacher in the biz, Erico. They're all in my favorites on this very website except for Jetmode (Okay, Jetmode's there but it's only the first few chapters), so to those of you out there in TV land who haven't read all of their stuff, do so. Trust me, it's well worth the time.

The next round of thank-yous goes to my oldest, bestest buddies on the Internet, goofballs who have somehow tolerated my conversation for more than four years now (or is it five? Damn, I AM getting old). To the Ethereal Ferret, Mr. Chimpo, Lark, and Chibi Schala. I doubt any of you will ever read this, but thanks all the same (And Ferret, tell the Ratdog he still owes me five bucks from poker night!). In addition to those, of course, is my brother DS, AKA Super Fantistico Eddie Tore Man. _WHAT?-Spittake Editor _I likely wouldn't be in business without him, folks, so he deserves it. Who knows, one of these days I might put up HIS e-mail address here and encourage everybody to send thank-yous just to tick him off. _I'll Murder Ya!-Enraged Editor _And finally, for all the good (kinda) folks at Snipe Hunt, formerly Hazard Labs, whose URL I've given up attempting to post in these. As usual, just for being you and keeping me humble.

**I Get Letters!**

I'll tell you right out, nothing makes me happier than seeing a shiny new letter or review from a happy fan (well, except maybe for grape soda, occasionally mixed with a Russian beverage I'm technically still a month away from being able to drink legally. But that's beside the point). The best ones, to me, are the ones that ask intelligent questions about important things. A lot of the time, those are answered by the end, but occasionally one isn't or just needs clarification.

Looking back now, though, it seems on this one I didn't really get any of those. So this really didn't need a separate section after all. Oops. Uh… ha ha ha ha ha!

**Why Doc Man?**

This, I think, was the biggest "change" from the original game. Oh, I could go on and on about similarities in armor color and structural design and permanent right-arm cannons and hologram use, but let's be honest here. Doc Man and Dark Man were NOT designed to be one and the same by Inafune. So… why did I do it that way?

It wasn't an easy call, let me tell you. There were several reasons not to do so; it might be overusing the character, it might change him too much, it might not have any reason for being that way. So, in order to justify the action of doing so to myself… I had to answer all of those. He had to be different enough to be interesting, but not so different as to be a completely new character under Doc Man's name. Above all, he had to be necessary… there had to be reasons for doing it that way, reasons that tied into the rest of BAB's plot, and the ongoing plot continuing into future Novelizations. And on top of that… if I was going to bring him back one more time, I had a duty to resolve his character, once and for all. To bring him back again in such an important role would be to elevate him beyond just a temp villain… he would have to be fully developed, far beyond what he was in MM3.

And in the end, I think I achieved all of those goals. First as Dark Man without his memories and the balancing "insane Proto Man", and then at the end as Doc Man with his brain repaired, he was a different bird from the complete whackjob of ROTF; but the progression was natural and explained, and you could see that he was indeed the same guy with the screwed-up everything from way back then. He was necessary; clearing Blues' name may not have been that easy, or even reasonably possible, had Dark Man just been another Robot Master. He helped clarify Mega's mind on certain issues as well, and had a bunch of other less important purposes that would take me all day to list. And perhaps most importantly of all… something he said is going to have a BIG role in Novelizations from now on. Most of you probably know what specific line that is; to those who don't, wait and find out. And the character was resolved; with his mind repaired and memory restored, he was able to look at his life objectively and realize the mistakes he had made. As one reviewer noted, I tried to make him peaceful, even serene, once the fight was over. And in the end, he left the world of the living for the last time under his own power, with that smile on his face being straight from the heart.

Am I absolutely certain I made the right choice, sticking Doc Man in here? No, and I don't think I ever will be. Life's not that easy. Am I happy with the way things turned out? THAT one's a yes. I am. And for better or for worse, it's done now. It's up, and reader response seems to be positive… so maybe I did make the right call.

**Self-Musing Crap-Diddly-Ap**

Looking back on BAB… I'm not really sure what to say. I think, overall, it was a success… and as I always hope for, a step up from my previous work, BOF. And yet… more than any others before, often while actually writing it, I'd get an air of "I could be doing this better." I could never place exactly what it was, infuriatingly; it just seemed not good enough. This seemed to crop up in the middle chapters, the eight Robot Masters, more than the beginning or the end. And yet, I never did manage to figure just what exactly it was out. Facing up to one's own limitations, I suppose; I've still got a long way to go as a writer before I make it to professional. I DO want to get there, eventually, but I want to take my time and make sure I'm ready first.

So if I'm not going pro just yet (like THAT'S a surprise), what is next for me? Longtime readers of mine probably guess that it's going to be something I've never done before, before I go on to Mega Man 6 in the one following that. They're absolutely correct. Zelda fans rejoice; this next one's for you, back in the old days of the SNES. I'll give you a Link to the Past, punk. _Good luck trying not to piss off the fan boys.-Suicidal Editor _After that, MM6... And after THAT? Who knows. There is one thing, though, that I do have to check up on now that this is completed… a certain offer from a friend, made several months back. I asked to wait until I was done with this, and see if he still wanted to ask me again… and now it's that time. Depending on how that turns out… in some time, you may be seeing something completely different from ANYTHING I've done before. Maybe. As for the Zelda… it'll be out by the end of the month. Hope you enjoy it when it comes.

I know I will.

_Magus523, November 7 2005_


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